February 2015 – Consumers Association Penang

Widen the net on dirty outlets

admin February 27, 2015 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang commends the health authorities for taking a bold move in closing down dirty restaurants in the state. Every year more than a thousand offences are recorded. This should not be the case anymore. We should aim for zero offences. According to our survey on food outlets, we found poor hygienic conditions not only in restaurants, but also in hawker stalls,...

Why Hasn’t the Price of Goods Decreased?

admin February 25, 2015 0 Comments

People are in uproar over the fact that even though the prices of petrol and diesel have decreased, the price of goods on the other hand have not. We at CAP can sympathize; after all we are also consumers and the cost of living has been steadily increasing. It is also frustrating that no one is able give a clear reason as to why the price of goods has not decreased. One thing we know for sure is...

SAM: The Hidden Side of Factory Farming of Food Animals

admin February 12, 2015 0 Comments

Meat consumption has grown sharply along with the rising prosperity of developing countries. As a result of this, large-scale livestock farming is now widespread throughout the region. However, an increasing number of people are becoming concerned with the conditions the animals are raised and how they are being treated. The ideal form of animal farming is free-range, where the animals are...

GM Rubber Trees in Malaysia: Jumping Off Without a Safety Net

admin February 9, 2015 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) would like to register our strong opposition to the growing of genetically modified (GM) rubber trees in Malaysia. Late last year, the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) submitted an application seeking approval for conducting a ‘confined’ field trial of GM rubber trees in Penawar, Kota Tinggi, Johor. In...

Malaysians don’t sleep enough and suffer health problems

admin February 5, 2015 0 Comments

The Consumers Association of Penang calls on consumers to inculcate good sleeping habit as getting enough sleep is the key to good health. According to a regional survey Malaysians get only 6.4 hours of sleep on average. This leads to a sleep gap of 1.6 hours short of the recommended 8 hours of sleep. Mobile devices and spending time online is one of the leading causes of this sleep deprivation....

The dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of

admin February 4, 2015 0 Comments

For years, there's been talk of creating a new free trade deal that would span countries bordering the Asia-Pacific, including the US, Canada, New Zealand, as well as several countries in Latin America and Asia. The deal is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – or "TPP" for short. The TPP agenda is being driven by big business, big pharmaceuticals and big tobacco – but the impacts...

Issue 45-1 Jan-Feb 2015

admin February 1, 2015 0 Comments

We have stories which you will not find in other papers -- hard-hitting stuff with no holds barred, for we name the brands, companies or people in our exposes, unlike the commercial papers which are dependent on companies for their advertisements or are owned by political parties. You can expect our views and perspectives to be different, for we are on the side of consumers.

Consumers Association Penang

Month: February 2015