Most traders think only of self-interest by raising goods price

KOTA KINABALU: The Consumer Association of Sabah (CASH) is appealing to traders to immediately reduce the prices of essential goods in line with the drop in the price of fuel announced by the government.

CASH president Datuk Patrick Sindu said most traders, however, were thinking of only their own interest by raising the price of goods when the government announced a hike of RM0.78 sen for a litre of petrol and RM1 for diesel in July.

“But when the government started reducing the price of fuel in stages, up to 50 sen until now, the traders are not responding as they should.

“When the price of fuel goes down, traders should act responsibly by voluntarily reducing prices..no need for the authorities to take action,” he told Bernama, here, yesterday.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the latest reduction in the price of petrol by 15 sen to M2.30 per litre and by 20 sen to RM2.20 per litre for diesel.

Sindu said CASH fully supported Abdullah’s statement on Wednesday that traders had a social responsibility to reduce the price of essential goods and not just think of profit.

“They should consider the hardship faced by the people, especially the low-income group and the poor, due to the continuing price hike of goods.” He said from checks by CASH, it was found that the price hikes happened everywhere, including in the rural areas.

“Even concerted efforts, including monitoring and boycotting business outlets that indiscriminately raise prices or maintain high prices, will not solve the problem without the cooperation of traders,” he said.

— Bernama