Call for department in banks to probe housing loan defaults
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15 APR 2021
PETALING JAYA: Experts are calling for Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and banks to set up a department to look into why borrowers are defaulting on their payments.
The recent case of M. Moganah, who had her home in Seri Kembangan, Selangor auctioned by a bank, highlights the need for such a department, they said.
The 38-year-old tailor had been living with her husband and two children in the flat for 17 years. She found herself in the predicament when her bank purportedly raised the interest rate on her loan without notifying her.
The bank is said to have blamed it on her failure to update her contact details and home address, a claim which Moganah has refuted. Malaysian Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation former president Yeow Thit Sang said members of the B40 group are often in situations such as Moganah, not by choice but as victims of circumstances.
He said factors such as poor education and lack of opportunities, on top of the Covid-19 situation, have led to a drop in their earnings. “The poor chap who signs on the dotted line with a bank is always at the losing end when it comes to default in payment of a loan.”
Yeow said in Moganah’s situation, the bank should have been more understanding and sympathetic by negotiating with her on how to settle the arrears.“People who lose their houses to banks will often never have a second chance to own another place to call home.”
Read more: Call for department in banks to probe housing loan defaults
‘Why are our good veggies going overseas while we eat low-quality, high-priced imports?’
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Food supplier calls for better quality control to ensure Malaysians not getting the short end of the stick
15 Apr 2021
GEORGE TOWN – Food prices in Malaysia, especially vegetables, may be rising, but instead of getting better produce, the higher grade crops are exported and locals are left with third-grade leftovers.
Vegetable supplier David Mariadass told The Vibes that, though Malaysia produces high-quality fresh produce, such as tomatoes, carrots, cabbages and turnips from Cameron Highlands, more than often than not, it is never consumed by Malaysians.
“We send our good produce over to Singapore. For example, when we export our best tomatoes to Singapore, they repackage them and export them to Europe.
“And, guess what? The sticker on the package says ‘Product of Singapore’!”
Now that Malaysia’s population has increased and development has taken over agricultural land, David worries that food shortages will cause the price of vegetables to skyrocket, hitting the most vulnerable groups worst.
“For example, countries like India do not export foodstuff if there is not enough supply for the people, but we still export our first-grade food, even when there is not enough for our population, and we import tomatoes, carrots, cabbages and turnips of substandard quality from China.
“We also import vegetables from Thailand, and those are cheap, but when there is a high demand, it will also hike up its prices, so who will lose out in the end?”
Read more: ‘Why are our good veggies going overseas while we eat low-quality, high-priced imports?’
Maybank warns of new fake banking website created to steal customer details
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Thursday, 15 Apr 2021
PETALING JAYA: Maybank has issued a scam alert warning customers about a new fake Maybank2u website created by fraudsters to steal banking information.
In a post on Twitter, Maybank shared that fraudsters will attempt to lure customers to login to bogus Maybank2u sites through messages sent via WhatsApp, SMS or email.
These messages aim to hoodwink customers into revealing their personal details – such as username, password, phone number and IC number – typically with false claims that their accounts have been compromised or judged as “high risk” by the bank’s system and that the user is required to “re-verify” their details.
Maybank stated that the company will never send reminders via SMS, email or WhatsApp with links urging users to login or update their Maybank2u account.
As an added security measure, it also reminded customers to manually key in the Maybank2u URL – maybank2u.com.my – to access their account as links provided by others may not be safe.
The company previously issued an alert about a fake Maybank2u website in February which was used by scammers for phishing attacks. Customers were lured to the fraudulent website through a promotional post on Facebook with the promise of winning some prizes.
Customers who may have revealed their Maybank2u login details on scam websites are urged to contact the bank immediately at (03) 5891 4744.
Read more: Maybank warns of new fake banking website created to steal customer details
Inefficiency the main issue in water management
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15 April 2021
THE lack of efficiency in water management continues to be the biggest threat to the country’s water distribution which is also likely to be caused by the absence of tariff hike.
Citing data from National Water Services Commission, Malaysian Water Association (MWA) president Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din said five states recorded a loss in their water operating revenue in 2018.
“Malaysia has plenty of raw water of about 496 billion cu m, only taken from the surface water and only 3% is used. The volume of water supply is not the problem. The true problem is with the efficiency of water and ecosystem management.
“In 2018, five states experienced losses and still did not improve from the year before. The loss could be taken as an indication of their performance,” he said during a forum titled “Right to Clean Water in Malaysia” organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia yesterday.
According to the data, the five states were Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis and Selangor.
Selangor recorded the biggest loss with RM1.28 billion during the year, followed by Pahang with RM30.48 million and Kedah with RM10.54 million.
Abdul Kadir said the water industry has been calling for the right water pricing and the relevant tariff mechanism.
Malaysia has been experiencing slow growth in tariff hikes with some states having not reviewed their water tariff for as long as more than 30 years.
Last month, Environment and Water (KASA) Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the government will require more time to come up with a restructuring plan with tariff increase that will not be burdensome.
Scammers using more sophisticated tactics
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15 APR 2021
FEDERATION of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) and the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) would like to alert Malaysian consumers on the sudden spike of scam-related complaints.
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated with their tactics and are hoping consumers would let their guard down. Consumers are urged not to provide their personal, banking or any details to strangers.
Fomca has been receiving around 450 complaints and enquiries related to scams since January. Based on Fomca’s observation, the scammers take advantage of vulnerable consumers, and surprisingly some of the victims are highly-educated.
It is becoming more difficult to know and differentiate between a scam and a legitimate business.
Fomca would also like to urge the relevant authorities to be proactive and play their role in curbing unscrupulous activities. Many consumers are still not aware of scamming activities.
The Communications and Multimedia Ministry and Malaysian Communications Multimedia Commission should play an important role to educate consumers through their channels.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry also needs to frequently publish and update all scam-related cases on their website so consumers will be well informed.
Enforcement agencies must also charge these culprits, and increase fines and jail terms for these offences. Scammers are constantly trying to steal consumers’ personal data using fake emails, websites, phone calls and even text messages by using various ways to trick people into providing personal information like bank account numbers and other valuable information, such as credit card numbers.
LETTER | Do a thorough investigation on Celcom-Digi merger
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13 April 2021
LETTER | It has been reported that Celcom Axiata Bhd is merging with Digi.Com Bhd to create the biggest mobile service provider in Malaysia. The proposed merger would result in the emergence of Asean’s largest telecommunications company with anticipated revenue of RM50 billion and net profit of RM4 billion.
This merger will result in market domination and reduce competition in the telecommunications sector. According to experts, with the merger, Celcom and Digi would have a combined share of 67 percent of mobile subscribers and 58 percent of the revenue.
With the merger, there would only be two competing corporations in the telecommunications sector - the merged company and Maxis. This clearly indicates a high level of concentration in the telecommunications sector.
With reducing competition in the telecommunications sector, would this result in higher prices and lower quality for consumers?
In a similar incident (though not a full merger), Malaysian Airline System and AirAsia signed a collaboration agreement to collaborate instead of competing on routes.
With reduced competition, consumers ended up paying higher prices and had fewer choices in choosing their airlines. This was the clear result of market sharing which had a disastrous impact on consumer welfare and consumer well-being.
Fomca had filed a complaint with the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) to investigate this collaboration between MAS and AirAsia and its impact on consumer welfare.
Read more: LETTER | Do a thorough investigation on Celcom-Digi merger
‘Not more than 30 sen for drinking water at eateries’
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12 APR 2021 / 10:42 H
PETALING JAYA: Ideally, water should be served free of charge at eateries. However, if an eatery chooses to bill a customer for a glass of water, it should not be more than 30 sen.
That is the consensus reached between consumer groups and an association of restaurant operators.
They were commenting on a recent announcement that the government is cracking down on high-end restaurants, fast food outlets, franchises and eateries, as well as stalls across the country, that charge RM1 or more for a glass of water.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Rosol Wahid said notices have been issued to 84 food and beverage outlet operators.
As of yesterday, Kelantan accounted for 14 of the offenders, the highest in the country.
The other states where overcharging for water have also been recorded are Selangor (12), Sabah (eight), Sarawak (eight), Johor (eight), Pahang (seven), Terengganu (six), Kuala Lumpur (five), Malacca (four), Labuan (three), Penang (three), Perlis (two), Perak (two) and Negri Sembilan (two).
Rosol said the notices, issued through Ops Catut 8.0 (Plain Water) that started last Wednesday, was in response to complaints from the public.
Read more: ‘Not more than 30 sen for drinking water at eateries’
LETTER | Has the MyCC protected consumer interests?
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9 April 2021
LETTER | According to the Competition Act 2010, the goal of the law is to “promote economic development by promoting and protecting the process of competition”. The act also specifically states that by doing so it aims to protect the interests of the consumer.
Has the Competition Act in fact protected the interests of consumers?
The biggest impact on the cost of living for consumers is the increasing price of food. Fomca had strongly advocated for a market review on the food supply chain to ascertain if the high price of foods was due to market manipulation.
In August 2019, the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) published and released the Market Review on the food sector. The report had confirmed that one of the key reasons for high food prices was price distortions and manipulations in the food supply chain.
For example, according to the report, the price of ikan kembong has increased by six times between the price received by the fisherman and the price paid by the consumer. Another example of substantial price increase is the price of cabbage; price at the farm is RM1.60 while the consumer pays a retail price of RM3.90, an increase of 143 percent.
Another example of price manipulation was the fish supply chain. Middle men are known to hoard fish when prices are low, thus restricting supplies and forcing the prices of fish to increase. There was also opaqueness in price determination along the supply chain.
MyCC in its report had identified multiple causes of the exorbitant food price in the market. The reasons include market manipulation by middlemen, multiple intermediaries and manipulation of approved permits causing unreasonable increase in food prices.
Read more: LETTER | Has the MyCC protected consumer interests?
Bukit Aman: Online jewellery scams on the rise
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9 April 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of online jewellery scam cases have risen, with 37 cases involving losses amounting to RM239,530 recorded in the first three months this year.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said the scam cases recorded in the period was the highest in the past two years.
He said throughout 2019, 21 cases were reported involving losses of RM148,444 and the total rose in the subsequent year (2020) to 44 cases involving RM261,954.
"The development of communication and technology have created online business opportunities, with unlimited access and connectivity, especially when the country is facing the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Therefore, it has become the platform of choice for consumers, but at the same time, it has brought about scams involving the sale of non-existent items," he said in a statement today.
Zainuddin said his department has implemented various measures to ensure that the efforts to curb these activities are effective.
"Yet from the prevention aspect, the involvement of the public is much needed and I urge consumers to be careful in all online jewellery transactions.
The public is reminded not to believe any offer of jewellery that is below market price especially when they're made by individuals you cannot verify," he said.
Fomca calls for medical tribunal, but experts say ‘it’s not so easy’
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April 9, 2021 8:40 AM
GEORGE TOWN: A consumer group has urged the government to set up a medical tribunal to handle complaints of negligence and other matters related to services provided by healthcare providers.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) said such a tribunal would allow those unable to afford lawyers to seek redress for their complaints.
Its president, Marimuthu Nadason, said the National Consumer Complaints Centre run by Fomca receives a number of complaints, but they cannot be addressed as they involve issues that require input from specialists or the hospitals themselves.
“We usually help those with medical-related consumer issues by writing to the health ministry or the healthcare provider concerned,” he told FMT.
“Most of the complainants feel they have been cheated or unfairly treated, so a medical tribunal would be the best avenue for them to seek redress.”
He said the tribunal could be placed under the auspices of the health ministry, and those failing to have their complaints resolved may take their cases to court.
“It also reduces the burden on the court system, with cases taking many years to be settled,” he said.
Marimuthu said the existing consumer tribunal will not be able to cover huge medical claims, so the proposed tribunal should have a ceiling of at least RM3 million.
Easier said than done, say lawyers
Read more: Fomca calls for medical tribunal, but experts say ‘it’s not so easy’
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