Coffee too costly? You can always brew your own

YOURSAY | ‘GST is 6pct, but why are the prices increased by much more than 6pct?’

A cup of coffee costs a lot more now

Oscar Kilo: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is 6 percent, but why are the prices increased by much more than 6 percent?

Anonymous #13114320: Some people don’t understand that 6 percent GST doesn’t mean things increase by a mere 6 percent or less.

When the cost of all things including raw materials increased, transport cost increased, rental increased, electricity increased and these will add up to more than 6 percent.

So don’t curse businesses for the increase because you don’t know how to do the calculation. Instead it is the fools in government and some of you to believe the GST will not hurt everyone.

And there is also higher cost to pay for accountants to do the GST to pay for the Customs monthly or quarterly, compared to previous one year once.

We are so much worse off nowadays that sooner or later you may have many Malaysians working hand in hand in 3D (dirty, dangerous and demeaning) jobs with the Bangladeshis Indonesians and Myammars in Arab countries.

This is how seriously bad it will be if our currency exchange rate continues to drop at this rate.

Ksn: Indeed, the prices of everything especially essentials have gone up, up beyond reasonable rates. The most affected are the poor and those with small income.

With a family to support, how will they cope with that situation? Does anybody care; those in power and those responsible to control prices?

Apapunboleh: The price of mixed rice has also increased. Luckily for me, the shop near my office provides free soup. I drink my own Chinese tea back in my office after lunch.

Fair Play: If there is a will, there is a way. As consumers, you are the ultimate decision-maker and always have a choice.

For office workers, most want an easy way out and make the most convenient choice (which invariably costs more).

You can pack your own lunch and carry a flask of hot water with you and make your own tea or coffee and also avoid the hassle of fighting for a seat in a crowded hawker centre during peak lunch hour.

Gaji Buta: My entire family have stopped ordering drinks when we go to stalls to eat. We also have breakfast at home – it’s healthier and cheaper. So spend wisely.

Anonymous_40f4: In hypermarkets and supermarkets and restaurants, the prices have allegedly gone up by 30 percent, not forgetting pharmacies.

Many include GST and allegedly round up the price to the nearest ringgit. This is a rip-off.

We should thank the 47 percent who voted for Umno-BN in the 14th general election (GE14). Rakyat Di-Bankrupkan!

Xed: There are also the undisclosed costs - protection money paid to gangsters, bribes allegedly paid to public officers, fees paid to private security businesses (run often by former police and military officers as part of an unofficial outsourcing system with the police doing less, especially in residential areas), etc.

Malaysia is an expensive country when local prices are measured against local incomes.

When compared to Malaysia, Singapore and Australia are not too expensive when local prices are measured against local incomes, and also because there the costs arising out of corruption, mismanagement, and incompetence are far lower.

Continue-The-March: All these comments are just negative hot air from disgruntled consumers. All the suffering Malaysians are enduring today are the results of mismanagement of Malaysia’s economy by the government.

Malaysia has all the riches and resources but RM1 = S$0.33. Singapore has nothing compared with Malaysia. Forty percent of the water used in Singapore comes from Malaysia. Yet residents of Singapore have never faced any water disruption.

A bowl of noodles in Singapore costs S$3.00- S$3.50, coffee is 90 cents at a coffee shop or hawkers centre.

The only thing Singapore has that Malaysia does not have is an honest people-centric government. Only by getting rid of the self-serving government will Malaysian see a better future.

We can all skimp and save and live a pathetic life where some of us cannot even afford to have a drink during a meal. How sad, we all need to rise and kick out the root cause of our problems.

Filipino and Indonesian friends are laughing at us, saying, "Why are Malaysians tolerating all this nonsense - corruption becomes donations, cases investigated but no charges, etc, etc." In their countries they would have gone to the streets and fight the corrupt.

They got rid of Marcos and Suharto but we are still complaining and complaining. Parti Amanah Negara’s Mohamad Sabu is correct when he said Malaysian are really cowards. -mkini