A stall keeper fills a glass with water at an eatery in George Town January 9, 2019. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
GEORGE TOWN, Aug 30 — The Penang Consumers Association (CAP) has called on the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to take action against food outlets charging exorbitant prices for plain water.
CAP acting president Mohideen Abdul Kader said a price survey at restaurants and food stalls in Penang found that the traders were selling a glass of warm water from RM0.40 to RM1.20.
He said the cost of 1,000 litres of water is only 85 sen.
“Even if a thousand customers walked into a restaurant and ordered one litre of plain water each, it would only cost the restaurant 85 cents,” he said in a statement issued today.
He said some restaurants were charging up to RM1.20 per 250ml glass of water which translates to RM4.80 per litre.
“For 1,000 litres, they would have charged RM4,800 when their cost is still only RM0.85,” he said, adding even taking into account their overheads and energy, the price charged is still exorbitant.
As for outlets that charged 40 cents per 250ml, he said this would total RM1,600 per 1000 litres.
He called on the authorities to carry out an immediate investigation into the unjustified price.