theSun | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12 2008
speak up!
Consumers’ right
to fair prices
WHEN the price of petrol went
up from RM1.92 to RM2.70
a litre, the price of roti canai
shot up mostly on the excuse
of higher transport charges
due to costlier fuel. Of course
those who are in the roti canai
business also say that the
prices of flour, sugar, cooking
oil and so on have also gone
up. The price of a roti canai
moved up from 70 sen or 80
sen in the first half of this year
when petrol was RM1.92 a litre
to RM1 or RM1.10 or RM1.20
depending on the location.
A short while ago, when
the price of crude oil began
falling from its record of
US$147 a barrel and the price
of Malaysian petrol also came
tumbling down, the price of roti
canai remained unchanged.
But now those in the roti canai
business have decided to bring
down the price of the favourite
breakfast item by about 10 or
20 sen. We are supposed to be
grateful to them for making roti
canai cheaper. But is it? Are
they truly considerate?
For instance, should the
price of petrol fall to the
pre-June price of RM1.92 a litre
or lower, would the price of roti
canai fall by another 10 sen?
It is almost certain that should
the price of petrol once again
rise to say RM2.50 a litre the
price of roti canai would rise
by even as much as 10 or 20
letters
letters@thesundaily.com
Mark of courage
THE most admirable of human
virtues is courage. The courage
to speak the truth all the time
because lies are the biggest and
most obvious sort of cowardice
that all of us hide behind. The
courage to speak our mind and
not stay silent, simply because we
are afraid that other people might
not agree with us.
Of course, there will be
conflicting views. And of course,
conflict is unpleasant. But not
speaking your mind can lead to
much worse unpleasantness.
It is only courage that enables
one to stand up for what one
believes in. It is only courage that
gives one the strength to resist
Cell phone users need details
MOST cell phone users have not
rushed to switch service opera-
tors because they are not sure if
the rates of the new service
operator are indeed cheaper,
given the multitude of products
and schemes.
Old loyal customers of the
various service providers have
also been given the short shift,
and treated as non-existent by
the operators.
Think of m-cyclists, Petronas
RON 92 grade of petrol is suitable
for motorcycles with an engine
capacity of 150cc and below.
But Petronas does not seem
to care for low wage earners
and users of motorcycles. The
Domestic Trade and Consumer
13
thesun says
sen back to RM1.10 or RM1.20
when the price of petrol was
RM2.70 a litre. Of course those
in the business would say that,
meanwhile, the prices of the
ingredients have since gone
up. Either way, they will not
lose. The losers are always the
consumers. This applies to the
price of that favourite beverage
teh tarik and to a lesser extent
to other cooked items like fried
mee, char koay teow, nasi
kandar, dosai and nasi lemak.
The rise in prices of such
items may seem nothing much
as indicated by the crowd at
roadside stalls or restaurants
but overall there is no doubt
that it eats into the income of
consumers, especially the low
wage earners.
There is little the consumers
can do singly in questioning
the action of those in the food
business but to submit, often
without so much as a murmur,
to whatever price they decide to
fix. They are like sheep. They
need not be like that because
they have a choice and power.
Elsewhere, they are a powerful
lobby. Properly organised
they need not have to be at the
mercy of the food sellers. In
fact, guided by the Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs
Ministry, they can tell these
sellers who really is their boss.
The ministry can and must
empower them.
those who take the easy way
out, which only leads to more
corruption and red tape in our
social systems.
Mark Twain said: “Courage
is not the absence of fear. It is
acting in spite of it. Courage is
being afraid but going on anyhow.
Courage is doing what you’re
afraid to do. There can be no
courage unless you’re scared.”
The sign of a courageous
person, then, is someone who
feels and recognises fear and
still goes on to do what he or she
believes is right.
Noel F. D’Oliveiro
Ipoh
Many cell phone users are
keen to migrate, but would like
the media to provide readers
with a comparison of products,
schemes, access fees, family dis-
counts, etc. Only when we see all
the comparisons in one page, will
we be able to make an educated
decision to switch.
Tam Yeng Siang
Petaling Jaya
Affairs Ministry should require
Petronas to sell RON92 at all its
petrol stations.
Gowrikumar
Selayang