Public greed, not GST, behind soaring Ramadan prices, BTN chief claims
Ibrahim said during the fasting month, consumers tend to buy more than they need, causing demand to outstrip supply.
“Normally we buy 3kg of rice, but during Ramadan we buy 10kg. Instead of one tray of eggs, we buy three.
“Why do we buy so much during the fasting month? We're not eating, we're fasting. I know this happens because my wife does this too,” he told a crowd over 100 government servants in a briefing on national issues.
When prices go up, many consumers, instead of blaming their hoarding of goods, would point fingers at Putrajaya and the GST, he said.
“It’s not right,” Ibrahim said.
Similarly, he said the public should blame themselves for slow Internet speeds.
“You can see today that our Internet is slow. Not because it itself is slow but because a lot of people are using it,” he said
The government agency chief blamed this on illegal downloads hogging Internet bandwidth here, adding that this does not happen in countries like Germany due to stricter enforcement.
“In Germany, the Internet is fast because if you download illegally, you will be charged by the authorities.
“You can't download illegal movies, songs and pictures there, you need to pay but we here, anything also we download illegally right up to the pictures of our grandfathers.
“That is why the Internet highway is slow but we blame the government. The government has created proper Internet highways but we don't know how to use it. Millions have been spent on this by the government,” he explained.
Ibrahim separately addressed the issue of national household debt levels, claiming that many people here have been living beyond their means.
“Clerks here want to live like they're department directors. In Malaysia, people want to buy three cars even though they have no money because the banks give them loans,” he said.
The briefing on national issues at the Sekolah Menengah Agama Pasir Panjang in Sekinchan was organised by the Prime Minister's Department (PMD) for civil servants around Sungai Besar area.
The event put together by PMD's Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) also featured a briefing by Bukit Aman's Counter Terrorism deputy director Datuk Ayob Mydin.
from Malay Mail Online | All http://ift.tt/1S4VNCy
via Mukah Pages
Post a Comment