It’s about the economy, stupid

Now, in Malaysia, chickens cost between RM12 to RM14 each (usually 1 chicken is about 2 kilos). In England, the same chicken costs 3 Pounds. No, don’t convert that to Ringgit because we are not converting the salary you earn and are using a ratio of one-to-one.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Turunkan harga ayam

Oleh RASIDAH MISNI
Utusan Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR 1 Mei – Orang ramai mendesak Persekutuan Persatuan Penternak Malaysia (PPPM) menurunkan harga runcit ayam di pasaran yang kini membebankan mereka.

Dalam tinjauan Utusan Malaysia di sekitar Pasar Pudu di sini hari ini, orang ramai meluahkan rasa tidak puas hati dengan kenaikan harga runcit ayam yang diumumkan PPPM semalam.

Seorang tukang masak, Ahmad Saifulrizan Ahmad Zabidi, 29, berkata, harga runcit ayam yang tidak menentu sejak kebelakangan ini mengelirukan rakyat.

"Kadang-kadang kenaikan harga ayam terlalu tinggi dan berubah- ubah seolah-olah tiada harga pasaran yang tetap.

"Kami berharap kerajaan akan menetapkan harga siling ayam kepada pemborong kerana peniaga akan menjual ayam mengikut harga daripada pemborong," katanya.

Semalam, PPPM mengumumkan kenaikan harga ayam daging di seluruh negara antara 40 sen dan 60 sen sekilogram atas alasan faktor permintaan dan bekalan semasa.

Harga runcit ayam siang berserta kaki, kepala, hati dan hempedal naik kepada RM6.15 sekilogram berbanding RM5.65 sekilogram manakala harga runcit ayam siang tanpa kaki, kepala, hati dan hempedal ialah RM6.90 sekilogram daripada RM6.30 sekilogram.

Seorang suri rumah, Jurinah Abu Bakar, 50, berkata, kenaikan harga runcit ayam tidak sepatutnya berlaku kerana ayam daging bukan barangan import dan tidak perlu dibayar cukai.

"Harga ayam kadang-kadang melambung, esok jatuh pula. Kenapa tidak diselaraskan atau ditetapkan saja? Harap pihak berkuasa tetapkan harga ayam di pasaran seperti harga daging yang tidak berubah," katanya.

Tambahnya, tindakan menaikkan harga ayam itu tidak sewajarnya berlaku tambahan pula ketika situasi ekonomi yang tidak menentu pada masa ini.

Sementara itu, seorang pekerja swasta, Mat Isa Mohd. Wadi, 33, berkata, pengguna sudah letih dengan putaran kenaikan barangan keperluan seperti yang berlaku sebelum ini.

"Keadaan ini menjejaskan ekonomi rakyat lebih-lebih lagi pelanggan seperti kami yang masih dibayangi kenaikan harga beberapa barangan sebelum ini," katanya.

Dalam pada itu, tinjauan di Pasar Pudu mendapati peniaga masih mengekalkan harga runcit ayam antara RM5.50 dan RM5.80 sekilogram.

Peniaga-peniaga tersebut mendakwa berbuat demikian kerana mengikut kehendak dan permintaan pelanggan.

Seorang peniaga, Zulkiflie Zainal, 30, berkata, memang tidak dinafikan harga ayam daging sentiasa berubah-ubah.

"Walaupun harga ayam sekejap naik dan sekejap turun, ia tidak menjejaskan perniagaan. Kami terpaksa akur dengan harga pasaran dan mengutamakan permintaan pelanggan.

"Kami tidak sesuka hati menaikkan harga runcit ayam kerana takut pelanggan lari," katanya.

Rakannya, Khairudeen Jamaludin, 34, yang turut sependapat berkata, mereka tetap menjual ayam daging pada harga asal sejak dua minggu lalu.

"Kami masih menjual ayam daging pada harga tetap iaitu RM5.80 sekilogram kerana jika kami naikkan harga ayam, permintaan pelanggan akan berkurangan," katanya.

Seorang lagi peniaga, Lukman Hakim, 45, berkata, walaupun pemborong mengenakan harga borong RM4.70 sekilogram kepada peniaga namun mereka masih mengekalkan harga asal.

I have written about this issue more than once before. Nevertheless, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, Melayu mudah lupa (Malays forget easily), so it makes good sense to keep reminding them over and over again — even though some people might say I sound like a boring stuck record. Sometimes, though, it is not so much Melayu mudah lupa but more that they did not even know about it in the first place.

Malays understand England. England, as Umno keeps harping about over and over again, once colonised this country. And it was Umno that fought fearlessly to free us from British colonialism. (Actually it was more English than British because the Irish, Scots and Welsh were themselves sort of ‘colonised’ by England). And Malays understand ayam (chicken) because that is an important food for the Malays. Okay, I am not talking about the Chinese version of ‘ayam’ here but our feathered friends.

By the way, while on the subject of ‘ayam’, allow me to digress a bit. Malays are very particular about the ayam they eat. I mean; all you need to do is send a SMS to 100 people saying that KFC is not halal and the message would spread like wildfire. Within hours the official spokesman for KFC would issue an official statement denying this and would even offer the public a tour of their facilities to see how the chickens are slaughtered.

But do you know what? Malays are only concerned whether our feathered friends are halal or not. When it comes to the other type of ‘ayam’, the two-legged ones, they are not concerned whether they are halal or not. I suppose as long as the meat is still alive they gasak only. Only when it has been killed do they worry whether it has been killed in the proper Islamic manner or not.

Okay, enough digressing. Back to the issue highlighted by Utusan Malaysia above, the price of chicken.

Let’s do a comparison study. Say you work as a security guard or jaga. (We employ a dozen in our neighbourhood and their salaries are collectively paid for by the residents — the residents’ committee collects RM60 per month per house).

These jagas earn about RM1,200 to RM1,400 per month.

A security guard or jaga in England also earns about 1,200-1,400 per month (in Pounds Sterling though) based on about RM35 per hour and double that on Sundays and public holidays.

So let us take one Ringgit as equivalent to one Pound, based on a one-to-one ratio according to the salary of jagas. Therefore, whenever we pay for anything, we should also use the same comparison of one Ringgit as being equivalent to one Pound — since we are using the same basis in comparing the salary of a jaga in Malaysia to a jaga in England.

Now, in Malaysia, chickens cost between RM12 to RM14 each (usually 1 chicken is about 2 kilos). In England, the same chicken costs 3 Pounds. No, don’t convert that to Ringgit because we are not converting the salary you earn and are using a ratio of one-to-one.

We must remember that, today, chickens are considered the poor man’s food. Fish and other ‘luxury’ items are beyond the reach of the average wage earner. If you go to a Chinese restaurant the bill will shoot up if you order fish so only towkays would eat fish. The working class will settle for chicken.

So there you have it. Malaysians, Malays in particular, should not be too impressed with all this talk of pembangunan. Also, no need to talk to Malays about GDP, GNP, FDI, or whatever. This means nothing to the working class. Just talk about the price of chicken and other food products. Tell them about the salary levels in Malaysia compared to that in our previous master’s country, England. Then tell them for every one Ringgit we earn in Malaysia they earn the equivalent in Pounds in England — one-to-one. Then tell them, while chickens cost RM12-RM14 in Malaysia, it costs only RM3 in England in terms of equivalent purchasing power.

That is the so-called pembangunan that we have seen since the British went home 52 years ago. Sure, now Malays got daulat, Malays got maruah, and whatnot. But Malays don’t have money because your money doesn’t have purchasing power.

Let’s hope the Malays remember this when they go vote in the Penanti by-election. Or maybe, as Mahathir said, Melayu mudah lupa.