IN THE END IT IS BAD GOVT POLICIES TO BLAME: Targeted by boycott, traders point finger at suppliers

KUALA LUMPUR -Traders are not happy with being blamed for the prices of goods, saying suppliers and markets set retail prices and traders should not be targeted for boycott.

They disagreed with Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s call for Malays to boycott Chinese traders.

“Shopkeepers and traders of all races have been hiking up prices,” shop operator Muhammad Shahril Muhammad Sabri said.

“We are not looking at the root cause of the problem because prices are dictated by suppliers.

“If they raise the prices, we have to as well, race has nothing to do with this.”

Shahril said in some cases, price was “an indicator of the product’s quality”.

Cendol stall operator Mohd Ishaq said the remarks made by Ismail Sabri was “nonsense” as every trader “must keep up with the prices of commodities such as sugar, regardless of a rise or drop in prices, our profits remain the same”.

Vegetarian food stall operator Oi Kong Yew, 43, echoed similar sentiments.

“I can’t keep maintaining my food prices regardless of the oil prices because prices for vegetables and other necessities in the market are still on the rise,” he said.

Traders were unsure if regulations or enforcement would be effective.

“ery business has different operating costs according to rentals and other factors, so how can prices be monitored?” stall operator Abidah Ariffin, 54, asked.

He said government inspections of markets would not be effective because of the sheer number of markets and suppliers.

“Consumers cannot boycott shops because they need essential items, but they should consider the best shop to go to.”

Food vendor Zainal Abidin Mohd, 62, said traders were the “wrong target” for boycott because suppliers were the ones who should lower their prices.

“If anything, it is not traders who should be boycotted, or be monitored by the government,” he said.

“Prices of goods have always been rising because of various factors beyond oil prices.”

Pharmacist Nikki Low, 37, said: “If the supplier decides to raise the prices of their wares, we have no choice but to follow suit to sustain margins.”

She said retailers have no choice but to strike a balance between profit and customer satisfaction because consumers would go elsewhere if they find the product too expensive.

Mamak shop operator Muhammad Hussain said “the last thing traders would do is to anger customers” by raising prices, but he said it was inevitable.

With shops and supermarkets nearby, traders were forced to keep prices competitive to survive.

“Consumers are now smarter as they compare prices,” shopkeeper Fum Jiann Chang said.

“Customers will come again if they are happy with the prices but would flee if it is otherwise, because there are many bigger shops to choose from.”

A trader in Batu Caves, known as Jay, said: “Chinese traders are not the only ones who raise prices, you cannot subject it to only one race.

“There are Malay and Indian traders who raise prices too,” said Jay, whose family have been running a store in Batu Caves for 40 years.

He said when someone wants to run a business, prices were dependent on the owner’s finances, it did not depend on race or religion. - Malay Mail