Rais Yatim: Harapan needs to be frank about cost of living

Former minister Rais Yatim, who had campaigned for Pakatan Harapan in the May 9 general election, said the new ruling coalition needs to be frank about the cost of living.

Rais noted that the new government was facing challenges in reducing the cost of living.

"We need to be frank... I think the country's financial position, as well as the decline in the strength of ringgit, are issues for the ordinary rakyat.

"The finance minister must also deal with the situation and cannot cite this or that factor because during campaigning (in the general election), we promised that if we win the price of oil will go down and tolls would be abolished, but we have yet to see that," he told Malaysiakini in an interview.

Rais said the people do not care who make up the new government and are instead more concerned about whether the rising cost of living can be tackled.

"There is unease that prices of goods are not going down, that that the cost of living is not yet at a satisfactory level or that the price of oil has not gone down," he said.

People will only take notice when...

Ultimately, Rais added, the people will only take notice when their lives become more comfortable, coupled with peace, ease of business and good interaction with the government.

Harapan, after coming to power, had moved to zero-rate the goods and services tax (GST).

The country is now in a tax holiday period, pending the introduction of a replacement tax, the sales and services tax (SST), in September.

The new government also ended the float system for RON95 petrol in favour of a fixed price.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution said a government study had found that 72 percent of consumer goods were now cheaper.

However, the opposition disputed this, demanding that the minister makes public the report.

Saifuddin defended the report, stressing that it was based on a month-long observation by the ministry. -Mkini