Wee Govt At Fault If It Cannot Stop Cement Price Hike

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PETALING JAYA: The Pakatan Harapan government should be blamed if it is unable to do anything about the big jump in the prices of ready-mix concrete, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong
The MCA president said the price increase, which ranged between 40% and 50%, brought about much negative impact
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''Not only will public and private contractors – who are tied to prices agreed to in their contracts – incur huge losses and go bankrupt, the people's cost of living will be affected too
''Even the Government's ongoing affordable housing projects won't be spared. Will the house prices see an increase
''Or will it be absorbed by the Government and add on to more national debt that has risen to RM100bil since Pakatan took over?'' he asked in a Facebook post Saturday (June 15) night
According to a letter by Hanson Building Materials Malaysia Sdn Bhd that was attached in the post, the price of ready-mix concrete increased effective Saturday
Citing the recent 40% price increase in cement and other significant increases in input costs, the company said customers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor would have to pay about RM40 per cubic metre more than the current price, depending on the mix design
Dr Wee, who is also Ayer Hitam MP, also questioned if the sudden price jump was due to the takeover of cement producer Lafarge; as well as the conglomerate's intention to acquire Tasek Cement, making it a private entity, that has sparked concerns on competition and the transparency in price setting
Dr Wee noted that if the price increase was caused by hidden hands to monopolise the industry, the Government should make use of the Competition Act 2010 to resolve the issue. - Star

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