Report profiteering traders, community leaders told

MIRI: Community leaders can help stop profiteering by reporting the cases to the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism or elected representatives for action to be taken.

Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation) and Assistant Minister of Public Utilities ( Water Supply) Datuk Sylvester Entri said community leaders, as the front liners, would likely know of such acts (profiteering) being committed.

“Report them to the ministry or me,” he told community leaders in Marudi constituency during a dialogue at Teras service centre in Beluru on Wednesday.

During the session a longhouse chief complained that a bag of cement now cost RM22.50 excluding six per cent GST compared to only RM19.50 previously.

TR Nuga Mandau said this when relating his personal experience recently when he bought a consignment of cement for his longhouse, saying the price had increased by two ringgit since last month with the implementation of GST.

Entri said it was important that consumers stand up for their rights and refuse to be fleeced by unscrupulous traders.

“GST is not an excuse to hike prices as this is never the objective of the government,” he said.

The assistant minister said the rural population in need of construction materials should be spared from the excesses of price hikes blamed by businesses on GST.

As such, he called on the grassroots leaders to help the government weed out profiteers from exploiting the implementation of GST.

Entri, who is also Teras secretary-general and Marudi assemblyman, also called for greater women participation in longhouse activities and programmes with greater autonomy from the respective village development and security committee.

“Let them decide their own activities or events with specific budget,” he said.