I spent the morning in PKR Party HQ and did a press conference with YB Rafizi and YB Manivanan.
YB Rafizi argued that prices and costs of most goods and services should be coming down due to the fall in petrol prices. However this cheap oil knock on effect has yet to materialise. Prices are still high. When asked to explain, the 2nd Finance Minister blames this squarely on the greedy business community. This then has taken on a racist element on pro UMNO cyberspace that “Chinese Tauke” are profiteering by maintaining high prices.
PKR aim to counter this racist perception by exposing the supply chain of most of our basic needs are in fact controlled by government and cronies. Thus the government cannot just wash their hands and blame “businessmen”.
The profiteering is not about race but a failure of government policy and anti-competition activities such as monopolies. We urge the government not to play the race card but to carry out their fundamental duties of dismantling monopolies, inject in more competition and improve enforcement to punish price hikes.
Specifically, I will be focusing on telcos, logistics and Astro.
