Malaysians brace for a pricier 2014 while BN leaders differ on cost to the Government
Voters might decide to ‘punish’ Barisan Nasional at the ballot box if leaders do not tackle the issue of cost of living. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 26, 2013
By Mohd Farhan Darwis and Yiswaree Palansamy
Malaysians are bracing for a more expensive 2014 that could eventually cost the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) votes in the next polls to the dismay of government MPs but a minister believes it is a storm in the teacup.
Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hassan Malek dismissed the University of Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections’ (UMCEDEL) prediction that BN would lose votes, saying no such “avalanche” will happen.
“We have encountered bigger problems than this and we came out of them well,” the minister told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur, adding that “everyone can make his own assumptions and conclusions about the Government, but trust me, a lot is being done to reduce the burden on the people.”
“We are doing our best to counter all effects of the price hikes. We have research labs to do research and my officers are always on-the-go,” the Kuala Pilah MP said.
UMCEDEL unveiled its findings on Tuesday, noting that the increase in the cost of necessities, electricity tariff and petrol had an impact on the lives of Malaysians, and if nothing was done, BN would suffer in the 14th general election due by 2018.
Most of the price increases will take effect from January 1, 2014.
Also on the horizon is the new consumption tax, the goods and services tax (GST) at 6% which takes effect on April 1, 2015 that replaces the sales and service tax.
Several price hikes and subsidy cuts in 2007 riled up the electorate, who handed BN a bloody nose in election 2008 when the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds parliamentary super-majority and five state governments.
BN has yet to recover from that historic loss as it lost seven more seats in the May 5 general elections, although it recaptured Kedah, apart from Perak four years ago.
The increasing losses in both elections have haunted BN and a few of Hassan’s party comrades say that Putrajaya should take action to assuage people’s anger as revealed by the UMCEDEL findings.
“If that is what the people want, then we have to work hard to meet their expectations,” Kepala Batas MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said.
He suggested the immediate formation of a cabinet committee on cost of living in the wake of the findings.
“We can’t procrastinate on this matter as the cost of living has to be reviewed in tandem with changing economic times. When the people’s disposable income is reduced, it looks as if the Government has failed to do anything about it.”
He said that while BN made the right decision by highlighting the cost of living as its main agenda in the party manifesto, the public have to bear in mind that living costs are never static.
But Reezal took a dig at Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, saying the opposition pact did not seem to have a feasible solution and only aimed at politicising the issue.
“Clearly, the opposition does not have a solution. It is easy to cry foul and pass allegations and exploit the situation for political mileage,” he said, referring to the protests against price hikes by PR leaders.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the UMCEDEL results only supported his contention that BN would suffer at the next general election if nothing was done about the price hikes and their effect on the cost of living.
