OVERCOME HIGHER PRICES OF GOODS IN SABAH – AU

Overcome higher prices of goods in Sabah – Au

March 28, 2012: THE Sabah government has been urged to conduct a thorough study on factors contributing to the higher prices of goods and living cost in the state and come up with specific measures to overcome them.

Elopura assemblyman Au Kam Wah in making the call at the State Assembly sitting yesterday, said the state government should work towards a review of the related policies to ensure a fairer daily goods prices in Sabah, similar to that in the other states in the country.

He said this included the controversial federal-imposed cabotage policy, which has long been blamed for the stark difference in prices between Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

“This policy has resulted in higher prices in Sabah and as such we should agree that this policy should be reviewed and be temporarily suspended to allow the state to be more competitive.

“Apart from the shipping companies that had been benefiting from this policy, as it enables them to charge shipping fees at their own whim, we have also received complaints recently that they are now also charging for empty containers.

“These additional costs, together with port surcharge, have caused the cost of transporting goods in Sabah to be much more expensive, and consequently lead to higher prices of daily goods and cost of living.

“We hope the state government would carry the necessary review to ensure fair competition between Sabah (businesses) and other states,” he said.

In making its consideration, he said the government should also take into consideration the proposed implementation of minimum wage policy as it could contribute to higher cost of doing business and higher prices of goods and services.

He claimed that an official survey made among business owners found that employers might reduce the number of workers as they needed to pay higher salaries, thus causing higher unemployment rate in the state.

Earlier, Luyang representative Melanie Chia Chui Ket said the cabotage policy introduced over 31 years ago, had been an unfair burden to the people of Sabah as it caused the import and transportation costs to be higher in the state.

She said the recent statement by federal Minister of Transport Datuk Kong Chong Ha was puzzling and had angered the people of Sabah.

“While there are leaders from Sabah who are against the policy, there are also ministers who said the policy is under the purview and the responsibility of the federal government.

“Sabah is the fixed-deposit for the federal Barisan Nasional; why not use this advantage to do away with the policy that hinders the state’s development? Getting rid of this policy would boost the industrial development in Sabah,” she added.