KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers are appealing to the government to address issues pertaining to health, education and high living cost in the upcoming 2018 Budget.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said more allocations for health were needed to help Malaysians who were still grappling with the high cost of living.
“We cannot deny the benefits that came from the setting up of government clinics and 1Malaysia Clinics which have helped to lessen the burden of consumers, but more can still be done.
“Be it in the urban or rural areas, this issue was still a big area of concern and there were many types of medicines that ordinary people could not afford, especially for critical illnesses,” Yusof told The New Straits Times.
Yusof said the people must equip themselves with knowledge in an effort to propel Malaysia to becoming a high income nation.
“To reach the standards of a high income country, the government must provide easy access to education by allocating more funds for scholarships. With this, those who are qualified will have the opportunity to further their studies and expand their knowledge, thus contributing to the country,” said Yusof.
He also said it was vital for new initiatives be taken up to solve currency issues as the matter impacted the people directly.
“The people are impacted by the country’s low currency exchange as we have a lot of imported goods and people will need to think twice when travelling as the rate of exchange is low,” said Yusof.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Muslim Consumers’ Association (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan was hopeful that the government would provide outreach programmes to the public.
“We did some studies on consumers and we found out that there was not enough outreach programmes to teach Malaysians how to be productive.
“The consumers are too dependent and they are used to the cycle of receiving handouts from the government. They contribute very little but expect much from the government,” he said.
If this continues, Malaysians would be overshadowed by foreign workers as the latter were known for their hardworking attributes, he added.
“I hope the programmes will enable Malaysians to realise their full potential and change their mindset. Once they realise that, they can become somebody.”
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/286578/consumers-want-health-education-and-high-cost-living-be-addressed-2018