LETTERS: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) lauds the prime minister's announcement that the 2025 Budget will focus on easing the increasing cost of living impacting Malaysian consumers, especially those in the B40 and M40 groups.
The Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research reported that the top concern among the people is the ability to sustain themselves amid stagnant incomes and escalating expenses.
The prime minister said the budget would address the issue of cartels and monopolies.
It should be mentioned that the Competition Commission Market Review on the Food Sector 2019 found that one key reason for high food prices was distortions and manipulations in the supply chain by monopolistic practices, burdening the poor, whose expenditure on food is between 40 and 60 per cent.
The second reason is our dependence on imported food, which is subjected to currency fluctuations, conflicts and climate change.
We need a viable agricultural sector to ensure affordability and accessibility of food supply.
The price of medicine is also soaring. Again, the Competition Commission Market Review on the pharmaceutical sector in 2018 identified various monopolistic practices pushing up prices.
The recommendations in the report should be implemented to bring prices down. We should also look at housing, healthcare, and childcare issues.
Policies that would make houses more affordable should be adopted, including price controls, reducing mortgage periods and the policy of building and selling so that houses are only sold after they have been completed.
The Health Ministry has sought to increase public investment in healthcare. Many consumers, due to urgency or other immediate needs, resort to private healthcare.
But many do not have medical insurance. In fact, about 38 percent of consumers pay their hospital bills out of their own pocket, considered the most risky form of payment.
Private hospital prices are exorbitant and unaffordable. The government should examine why medical inflation in Malaysia is 12.6 per cent while the global average is only 5.6 per cent.
Medical insurance premiums are too high, making it unaffordable, including for the M40.
One of the measures being introduced is the co-payment, where the patient pays a portion of the medical bill while the insurer takes care of the rest. It is believed this ought to reduce premiums.
However, health economist Professor Syed Mohamed Aljunid, president of the Health Economic Association, has challenged the notion that co-payments would lower insurance premiums, citing historical trends in private insurance.
He said that private insurance premiums had never decreased and co-payment merely shifted costs to individuals who would now need to pay more when accessing services.
Thus, policymakers need to ensure that co-payment polices do not merely shift the healthcare burden to consumers while insurance companies maintain, or worse, increase their premiums.
Finally, due to the increasing costs of childcare and the limited means of families, especially low-income families, Fomca supports the proposal by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund for the introduction of a universal childcare allowance for mothers.
Low-income families need support for nutritious food, education and care for their children. We hope the coming budget will reduce the burden of consumers and enhance their quality of life.
DR PAUL SELVA RAJ
Deputy president, Fomca
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times