CAP: Price tagging laws must be enforced

Penang Enforcement Chief, Chin Ching Chuang, from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, yesterday reported in the local daily, that the durian sellers in Macalister Road were slapped with two compounds amounting to RM2,000. The sellers were compounded for displaying misleading prices and not displaying prices in the national language.

The routine surveys conducted by the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) around Penang Island revealed that most traders openly violated the Price Control Act. The surveys covered food stalls, wet market, pasar malam stalls, restaurants and sundry shops.

The main offenders were the stalls where prices of the drinks and food sold had no price list or indication of the price displayed.

Second on the list of offenders were restaurants where indication of prices were not updated and normally misled the consumers.

By not displaying the prices correctly, consumers are normally being “ripped off”.

According to the Act the onus is on the sellers to keep the buyers informed of the price. However, lack of enforcement had hindered the effectiveness of the law.

In view of this, CAP calls on the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, to take stern action and strictly enforce the laws in accordance with Section8(1) of the Price Control Act 1946, Amendment 1973 and bring to book all offenders. 

Press Statement, 26 July 2019