KUALA LUMPUR: Consumer organisations have called upon eateries to stop charging their patrons for a glass of water.
The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) said restaurant and eatery operators should scrap any charges for water offered to their customers.
Its education officer N.V. Subbarow told the New Straits Times that these outlets were already making profit with their food and drinks.
Hence, he said imposing a charge for a glass of water only exhibits their greediness to make extra money.
"Some countries are not charging a single cent for plain water and ours is already considered cheap, yet these restaurants charge them up to RM1. This is unacceptable.
"They already make profit from selling food and drinks and water charges should have already been included in it, so why charge more?" he said today.
He was responding to comments by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) that 84 notices were issued to food operators for charging RM1 for a glass of plain water.
Kelantan recorded the highest number with 14, followed by Selangor (12), Sabah (eight), Sarawak (eight), Johor (eight), Pahang (seven), Terengganu (six), Kuala Lumpur (five), Melaka (four), Federal Territory of Labuan (three), Penang (three), Perlis (two), Perak (two) and Negri Sembilan (two).
The traders were required to justify their charges for the plain water upon the notices issued before KPDNHEP took further action under the Price Control and Anti -Profiteering Act 2011.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason said that charging for a plain water hurts Malaysian values.
He explained that it was a norm for people to offer drinks to their guests as a gesture of warm welcome, hence this should be followed in restaurants as well.
However, he said a charge up to 30 cents was still acceptable.
"But RM1 is too high. Food operators should look at their bills, how much are they being charged per cubic metre.
"It is not fair to charge RM1 for a glass of water," he added.