National Cost Of Living Action Council Focuses Six Key Clusters - Ahmad Zahid
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- The National Cost of Living Action Council will focus on six Key Cluster Working Group Committee, which include food and housing cluster, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the other four clusters were education, transportation, utilities and health.
"We took several proactive stand on the matter because we listen carefully to problems which have become issues for the people.
"The living cost does not only cover prices of goods, food and beverages ...hence, we took into account all aspects based on the clusters that have been set up," he said after chairing the National Cost of Living Action Council here today.
Ahmad Zahid said he wanted all the cluster meetings to be reported to the cabinet for all the ministers to analyse so that new inputs could be implemented and monitored.
The meeting, with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry as the secretariat, was attended by several Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, secretaries-general of ministries, senior officers from the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the council members appointed from among academicians and from NGOs.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said several representatives from universities and organisations were appointed to obtain their views, not only to address cost-of-living issues but also assist in the long-term plans of the government.
"I have authorised Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, the deputy minister, secretary-general and departments under the ministry to promptly coordinate the clusters so that we do not sweep the problems under the carpet," he said.
He expressed confidence in several proactive measures of the ministry, such as the 'Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat' and the 1Malaysia People's Shops (KR1M) 2.0 aimed at safeguarding the people's interests and welfare.
Asked about the royal address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, opening the first meeting of the sixth session of the 13th Parliament yesterday, in which the King lauded the continuous efforts by the government to address issues facing the people, especially the cost of living, Ahmad Zahid said the government thanked His Majesty for the commendation and added that the government should translate its commitment through the immediate implementation of programmes.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid, in a statement, said the meeting today also took into account the explanation by Bank Negara on the country's current economic situation, the worldwide rising cost of living due to factors such as higher prices of raw materials, increase in production cost, rise in population as well as higher demand than supply.
He said these factors contributed to the high cost of living in the urban and rural areas, and also affected the prices of food items, housing, transportation, utilities, education and health as reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which recorded an increase of 3.7 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016.
The group index for food and non-alcoholic drinks in 2017 was also a major contributor to the increase in the CPI, with an increase of 4.0 per cent caused by the increase in the index for food outside the home (+4.8 per cent) and food in the home (+3.7 per cent). The index for coffee, tea, cocoa and non-alcoholic beverages dropped 0.3 per cent.
Among the sub-groups of food in the home that saw a significant rise during the period were oils and fats (+13.3 per cent), fish and seafood (+6.7 per cent), vegetables (+4.0 per cent), fruits (+3.4 per cent) and meat (+3.1 per cent), he said.
Ahmad Zahid said other major groups that contributed to the rise in the CPI in 2017 were transportation (+13.2 per cent), health (+2.5 per cent), restaurants and hotels (+2.5 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+2.2 per cent), as well as decorations, furniture and household maintenance (+2.1 per cent).
Core inflation, which did not include fresh food items at the most volatile prices as well as price-controlled goods and services, recorded a change in the range of 2.2 per cent to 2.6 per cent last year, he said
-- BERNAMA
