Cheaper Petrol Doesn T Necessarily Mean Cheaper Goods Rafizi

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Although petrol prices are set to fall, former economy minister Rafizi Ramli said this does not necessarily mean that prices of necessities will follow suit.
In a video posted to his Facebook page today, the Pandan MP said it is difficult to tell whether the reduced fuel prices will cause the price of goods to fall until the situation has played out in the following months.
However, he is focusing on policies that introduce transparent price practices in line with his concerns.
"The government is responsible for ensuring that laws are able to curb excessive profit-taking practices and consumer manipulation so that these laws can also be enforced.
"Consumers are responsible for buying goods and services that provide the best value at the most reasonable prices. Traders who manipulate consumers with excessive prices should be avoided.
"However, all of this is difficult because we have not yet practised price transparency in our daily business practices.
"The principle of price transparency allows consumers to assess whether the price is reasonable or not from a comparison of reference prices or from a cost and profit margin analysis," he said.
Lower fuel costs
Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the price of RON95 would be lowered by six sen to RM1.99 per litre before the end of September.
He said the initiative will benefit over 18 million motorists and motorcyclists, especially youths and gig workers.
However, Rafizi said it is hard to tell whether this would cause other prices to decline simultaneously.
"Apart from the cost of raw materials and production costs, prices in an open market system like ours are influenced by many things. One of them is competition," he explained.
Other factors include the cost of materials, prices along the supply chain, workers' wages, and other costs, he added.
"Therefore, balancing the price increase requires the role of all parties.
"The government is responsible for ensuring that there is no sustained sudden increase in the price of basic materials because most basic materials are controlled goods," he said.
This comes amid the rising cost of living as well as a 19 percent tariff on all US-imported goods.
Aside from cheaper RON95, Anwar announced that in conjunction with National Day this year, all Malaysians aged 18 and above will receive a one-off RM100 Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara) that they can use to purchase groceries and household goods.
He also said that the government is adding to the budget for Rahmah sales to expand its coverage and increase its frequency. - Mkini

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