fomca6 Julai 2020
Kita boleh hidup tanpa makanan lebih lama tetapi tanpa air kita hanya boleh hidup 3 sehingga 4 hari sahaja. Jika satu hari tiada air di rumah, pengguna akan mula bingung memikirkan cara untuk mandi, cuci pakaian, dan memasak apa lagi jika rumah kita mempunyai anak kecil dan warga emas yang sudah uzur.

Kebiasaannya sumber bekalan air ni boleh diperolehi dengan pelbagai cara sebagai contoh dengan galian air bawah tanah; ambil dan tapis dari air sungai atau laut, pam dipasang supaya boleh menarik air dari kawasan yang tinggi.

Bagaimana jika sumber bekalan air susah untuk didapati, sehingga terpaksa dicatu dan kualiti air pula tidak memenuhi piawaian minimum yang ditetapkan? Kita semua tahu biasanya perkara begini hanya berlaku di Afrika tetapi malangnya perkara ini turut berlaku di bumi Kelantan Darul Naim.

Penduduk Kota Bharu terpaksa mencatu bekalan air sehingga ada yang tidak mandi, semata-mata untuk penjimatan bekalan keperluan yang paling asas untuk manusia iaitu AIR. Situasi terbabit dialami penduduk sepanjang Ramadan lalu yang menyukarkan mereka untuk menjalani kehidupan dengan baik seperti yang telah dipetik dari akhbar Harian Metro yang bertarikh 18 Mei 2020.

fomca09/07/2020 06:10 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Julai  -- Gabungan Persatuan-persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (Fomca) meminta pengguna menghubungi bank masing-masing secepat mungkin untuk berunding sekiranya mereka tidak dapat membuat pembayaran pinjaman, apabila berakhirya tempoh moratorium kelak.

Presiden Fomca, Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason juga menasihatkan pengguna untuk tidak menunggu sehingga September untuk berkomunikasi dengan pihak bank dan mereka harus menjelaskan keadaan mereka secara jujur.

"Fomca berharap agar bank-bank bersimpati. Fomca yakin bahawa Bank Negara akan mengarahkan bank-bank untuk bertindak dengan penuh bertimbang rasa. Berundinglah dengan jujur untuk mencari jalan penyelesian terbaik demi masa depan.

"Namun, jika anda beranggapan tindakan bank-bank berkenaan tidak berhati perut, usah ragu-ragu untuk membuat aduan rasmi kepada Bank Negara. Menjadi harapan kami agar Bank Negara dapat bertindak dengan pantas dan berkesan menangani aduan dan isu masalah pengguna,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini, hari ini.

nstKUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (FOMCA) has called upon the taxman to throw a lifeline to Malaysians by pushing back the due date for their income tax returns.

FOMCA president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason said although the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) has extended the deadline for submission of Income Tax Return Form (ITRF) BE from May 15 to June 30, many are beleaguered as they are still finding it difficult to make ends meet.

"It is going to be agony to the people with very little money in hand to come up with payment to LHDN in these trying times," he said in a statement, today.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected every one, with many forced to take pay cuts and no-pay leave, while others lost their jobs altogether.

"People are just coming out from their homes and starting to restructure and looking into their livelihoods," he said.

As such, Marimuthu urged LHDN to push the deadline for ITRF submission to the end of September.

He added that with this extension, taxpayers would be able to focus on their livelihoods, such as looking for a job or several jobs to increase their incomes.

fomcaJune 20, 2020 @ 6:57pm

KUALA LUMPUR: The RM942 million assistance under Bantuan Prihatin Elektrik will not only ease financial burden among the people but also gave them time to restore their monetary stability which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Federation of Malaysian of Consumers Associations (Fomca) chief operating officer Saravanan Thambirajah described the additional assistance as timely and that it was much needed by the people during this challenging period.

"Fomca would like to the Prime Minister, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resource, Energy Commission and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for listening to the grouses of consumers.

"This assistance is timely and is a much needed for the rakyat during this trying time.

"Fomca, however, also would like to suggest to the government to conduct stakeholders engagement in future to get their opinions to get better picture of the problems," said Saravanan, who is also the Water and Energy Consumers Associations of Malaysia (WECAM) president.

Fomca also called on the government to review the current tariff block structure which the association deems as being outdated.

malaysiakiniIn 1972, after the first day of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, it was decided that there would be a day declared as World Environment Day. Since 1974, World Environment Day has become a global celebration with a common theme of "Only One Earth" to signify the importance of protecting the one and only place we call home.

This initiative also aligns well with our No 13 of our Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which is climate action. Environment Day is celebrated on annually on June 5 and aims to promote awareness to protect our nature and biodiversity. The theme for the year 2020 is "Biodiversity" with the tagline "Time for Nature". What do we mean by biodiversity?

At its root, biodiversity basically means the variation of all the species from various habitats and terrains. Biodiversity is not a list of plants and animals, but a series of relationships in a complex web. When one part disappears, every other part of this complex chain is affected.

Biodiversity comprises three levels of diversity, which are genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity. Thus, it is the foundation for a healthy planet and healthy people. Diverse ecosystems are more resilient and better able to recover from stress such as drought or human-induced habitat encroachment such as over-grazing.

DATE OF RELEASE: 18 MAY 2020

Covid -19 pandemic has indeed created a huge challenge to all of us in every aspect of our lives including socially and economically. The government has come out with some plans to assist the people. Unfortunately not all affected people seem to benefit from the Prihatin Economic Stimulus Package and the Prihatin SME Economic Stimulus Package

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has declared a 6 months moratorium for all borrowers from housing loans and car loans to as well as fixed rate Islamic financing. Inevitably, the Minister of Finance had to coax the Banks to defer the compound interest to be accrued to the principal. At the time when people are struggling to make ends meet, banks should be more compassionate instead focusing just on into profit making. The Movement Control Order (MCO) which was implemented on 18 March has been extended till 9th June 2020. Some places have been placed under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).

Throughout this ordeal of MCO and EMCO, more than one million people have lost their jobs and many others also had to take no pay leave or reduced pay. Financial constraints have caused severe family tribulations. This was proven when MCO was lifted to Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) many people rushed to pawn shops. The queues at the pawn shops throughout the nation were very long. Many people were there to pawn their jewelleries or to renew their items pawned. Pawn shops are known as the poor men’s bank as many customers are from the lower income bracket (B40) and some from the middle income bracket (M40). Many throng to these shops as they faced financial constraints during this challenging time. It clearly shows that the government aid is relatively insufficient to make ends meet. To rub salt into the wound, some pawn brokers went on to charge on their customer interests despite the fact that the Minister of Housing and Local Government had declared that Pawn Brokers have deferred the interest during the MCO, from March 18 to May 12.

The movement control order (MCO) has been extended. There also appears no indication that the government would be extending further financial support to low and middle income families. During this current MCO as well as with the extension of the order, more workers will be losing jobs, those working will have their incomes reduced; and all workers and those seeking employment will be very worried of their future as jobs disappear and the economic outlook seems to be increasingly bleak.

Yet households have to continue to meet their financial obligations. One of their current major obligations is their communication and utility bills. For certain as families spend an increasing amount of time at home, their utility and communication bills are expected to increase substantially. This would include the electricity bills, water bills, handphone and internet bills, and astro bills.

DATE OF RELEASE: 16 APRIL 2020 - Our nation is facing a pandemic which is animosity among families which is mounting daily. Companies and SMEs are closing down with workers taking pay cuts or receiving no pay, while the self-employed are finding it hard to sustain their families. All these are due do the Covid 19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO) which has been extended further.

The government came up with stimulus package to assist those badly hit by the MCO. Banks also came up with their assistance programme to consumers by declaring a moratorium of 6 months payments on loans to enquire or clarify their issues.

FOMCA has been receiving a lot of enquiries related to banking issues. Consumers are calling FOMCA as the banks do not appear to have proper communication channel for the customers who have taken up loans with banks.
What the public need at the moment is a clear communication between the consumer and the bank. All ambiguity needs to be cleared. Consumers have a lot of questions. The appropriate correct responses should be from a well -informed bank officer. Hence, the banks must have an effective mode of communication for the consumers to call and enquire on whatever information they need in relation to the moratorium.

DATE OF RELEASE: 21 APRIL 2020

FOMCA has been receiving a lot of complaints and enquiries on education institution as well as transport monthly fees. The education institution ranges from kindergarten, day care, private schools and home schooling. Parents are hoping that the fees would be waived as most of them are not working and finding it difficult to make ends meet due to COVID 10 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO).

Some of these institutions are receiving aid from the Stimulus Package announced by our Prime Minister which is also known as Prihatin. Those occupying rented premises have been given deferment in rental and loans too. Besides that, since these institutions are not operating in full, they will be minimising the operation costs. If they charge the parents full amount, is it considered as profiteering?

Parents having their kids under their watchful eyes find it difficult to teach them as the syllabus have changed and the methods of approach have differed over time. The Education minister recently announced that not many parents have computers or internet at home to access online learning. To couple with that, some parents are not IT savvy making the situation more difficult. But some kindergartens are offering online education for three years old. These toddlers are finding it hard to grasp the lesson as many are not able to read unless coached personally. Parents feel that if they were to be charged should be minimal.

DATE OF RELEASE: 21 APRIL 2020

Clearly the COVID-19 movement control order (MCO) has affected everyone; with particularly severe impact on the poor and low income. Loss of jobs and thus incomes, reduced incomes made worse by future uncertainties have had a severe negative impact on consumer financial and overall well-being. To make matters worse, some retailers are manipulating prices and making excessive profits by increasing prices, making the life of the poor even more difficult.

Still consumers need money to feed their families, meet their obligations and meet other essential responsibilities.

Clearly the financial support by government to assist consumers to survive these difficult times is extremely limited. Firstly, many self-employed and daily wage workers are excluded. Secondly, the one-off aid received is clearly insufficient to meet personal and household basic needs and consumers have to find their own means to raise cash to meet their basic obligations.

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