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KUALA LUMPUR – The National Consumer Advisory Council (NCAC) has recommended that the government overcome the country’s dependence on imports, especially food products, in the middle and long-term.
Welcoming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s immediate focus on cost of living issues, NCAC chairman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said the measure was important to ensure domestic industries are developed to sustain and stabilise domestic needs.
“As such, measures prioritising domestic production must be made to create suitable incentives for local industries,” he said in a statement today.
He added that targeted subsidies were a suitable rationalisation of policies, but needed to be implemented with an efficient mechanism to ensure that necessities were not subject to monopolies and exploitation by big industries.
Costs of living include food, utilities, transport, health, housing and education, all of which need to be the main focus of the government, supported by producers, traders, and consumers, he said.
Anwar had told the National Action Council on Cost of Living to prepare a proposal on targeted subsidies after chairing a special meeting with the council yesterday.
He said the subsidies borne by the government currently, including the electricity subsidy, were enjoyed by everyone even though they were meant to help the poor. – Bernama, November 28, 2022
