MALACCA: People have been advised to be prudent when shopping for the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations.
Malacca branch of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry director Jaiya Abu said they should avoid buying from traders who charge unreasonable prices.
“Shoppers should survey the market first. Visit several premises to compare prices before buying. And in their survey they should also not focus just on clothes. They should also check prices for home furnishings, raya cookies and other festive delicacies,“ he said.
He was commenting on complaints that clothes for this year’s Hari Raya celebrations are pricier compared with last year.
On May 12, a news portal reported that a trader selling traditional baju Melayu claimed that there was a 40% increase in cost this year due to imposition of the Sales and Service Tax, replacing the goods and services tax.
Jaiya said stern action would be taken against traders who raised prices unreasonably under Section 14(1) of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
But for some shoppers like Nurul Nadeea Shuhaimi, 34, bargains are hard to come by this year.
“There is hardly any promotion carried out by traders and most traders do not give much discount so consumers had no choice but to buy at high prices,“ she said.
“I bought the first Raya dress because if I wait until the very last minute, there will be nothing much left and the price of a baju kurung can be as high as RM200 and for one that is a bit more flashy it can reach up to RM400 or more, and that’s not including the price of the headscarf.” – Bernama
