PRESS RELEASE: FOMCA ANNUAL CAMPAIGN - FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH
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DATE OF RELEASE: 12 OCTOBER 2020
PRESS RELEASE: FOMCA ANNUAL CAMPAIGN - FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH
October marks the “Financial Literacy Month” in Malaysia. The on-going event is organised by Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA). Having been first organised in 2011, the event is currently in its ninth year. The theme chosen is “Financial responsibility begins with me.”
The main emphasis of the event is to highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach households how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits.
Furthermore, it promotes national awareness and engagement campaigns through various community events.
The Covid-19 and Movement Control Order (MCO) has since been extended to December 2020 and with no ending of the MCO in sight. Workers are losing their jobs and are unable to find new jobs, having their incomes reduced and facing a bleak economic recovery in the future, especially for families facing the crisis with limited means and not having a clear picture of their employment future.
Many consumers might even have to dig into their personal savings or make borrowings from informal sources to meet their basic family expenses. They would probably be from the low-income and the unskilled, this would put tremendous pressures to meet their financial obligations.
Read more: PRESS RELEASE: FOMCA ANNUAL CAMPAIGN - FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH
PRESS RELEASE: PROTECTING THE PLANET WITH STANDARDS
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DATE OF RELEASE: 14 OCT 2020
PRESS RELEASE: PROTECTING THE PLANET WITH STANDARDS
When do we develop a new standard? It is not decided by ISO, IEC, ITU nor Department of Standards Malaysia but by the respond to a request from industry or other stakeholders such as consumer groups. Typically, an industry sector or group communicates the need for a standard to its national member (Standards Malaysia) who then contacts ISO, IEC or ITU.
Standards are developed by groups of experts from all over the world, that are part of larger group called technical committees. These experts negotiate all aspects of the standard, including its scope, key definitions and content that meets the requirement from the balance stakeholders.
Balance stakeholders are comprising of Government & Regulators, Industry, Consumers and Academician.
Standards promote economic sustainability by facilitating international trade, improving a country’s national quality infrastructure and supporting sustainable business practices.
A quality infrastructure is a system contributing to governmental policy objectives in areas including industrial development, trade competitiveness in global markets, efficient use of natural and human resources, food safety, health, the environment and climate change. They cover everything from efficient farming methods to anti-bribery management systems.
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Panic buying 'a vicious cycle'
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October 15, 2020 @ 11:10am
KUALA LUMPUR: There is no need for panic buying as there is sufficient supply of food and other essential items during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi assured that the items were all available at reasonable prices.
"The ministry has received information that people in several places have resorted to panic buying following the announcement by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob).
"We guarantee that food and other essential items are available in sufficient amounts at reasonable prices.
"People are advised to make necessary purchases only and refrain from hoarding and stocking up on supplies," he said yesterday.
Alexander said the ministry also stepped up enforcement nationwide to ensure the supplies continued to be available at reasonable prices.
"The ministry has mobilised 2,269 enforcement personnel nationwide to ensure adequate supplies without any price hikes.
Wang simpanan lesap ditipu Macau Scam
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Rabu, 14 Oktober 2020 @ 2:12 PM
Kepala Batas: Takut selepas didakwa terbabit dengan aktiviti penjualan akaun bank hingga meraih keuntungan jutaan ringgit menyebabkan wang simpanan RM136,000 milik seorang suri rumah lesap selepas ditipu sindiket Macau Scam.
Mangsa berusia lingkungan 70-an menerima panggilan telefon pada Ahad lalu daripada individu tidak dikenali yang mendakwa dari Pejabat Pos Laju di Kuala Lumpur.
Individu itu memaklumkan terdapat bungkusan atas nama mangsa mengandungi sekeping kad pengenalan dan lapan kad pengeluaran wang automatik (ATM).
Ketua Polis Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Asisten Komisioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor berkata, panggilan mangsa kemudian disambungkan ke Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen (IPK) Johor.
"Mangsa dikatakan bercakap dengan individu kononnya seorang inspektor polis yang memaklumkan mangsa terbabit dalam kegiatan menjual akaun bank kepada seorang lelaki sebanyak RM10,000 dan menerima wang sebanyak RM23 juta.
Bank Negara: Most households can withstand extreme equity market shock
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Wednesday, 14 Oct 2020 12:29 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Most households can withstand extreme equity market shock equivalent to that experienced during the Asian Financial Crisis as investments were funded by excess cash reserves and not borrowings, according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
It said a notable development in the first half of 2020 was the significant increase in retail participation in the equity market, which saw retail investors purchasing a total of RM113.1 billion worth of listed shares.
“Our surveillance indicates that the surge in retail participation has not been funded by borrowings.
“Loans disbursed and outstanding for the purchase of shares, including margin financing, remained low and broadly stable during this period,” it said in its Financial Stability Review - First Half 2020 released here, today.
It said such loans continued to account for a small share of overall household debt (0.5 per cent) and bank lending to households (0.6 per cent).
Read more: Bank Negara: Most households can withstand extreme equity market shock
Pencemaran air: Denda lebih tinggi bakal dikenakan
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Selasa, 13 Oktober 2020 @ 11:44 AM
Port Dickson: Pindaan ke atas Akta Kualiti Alam Sekeliling 1974 yang antara lain bertujuan menaikkan jumlah denda bagi kes pencemaran air, dijangka dibentangkan di Parlimen tahun ini.
Menteri Alam Sekitar dan Air Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man berkata, menerusi pindaan berkenaan, jumlah denda yang dicadangkan adalah RM10 juta daripada RM500,000 pada masa ini.
"Selain itu, pindaan itu juga akan meningkatkan hukuman penjara dan semua ini akan kita bentangkan dalam sidang Parlimen akan datang," katanya ketika ditemui selepas meninjau lokasi pencemaran tumpahan minyak di Pantai Cermin, di sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir, Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS), Norlin Jaafar; Pengarah JAS Negeri Sembilan Azuri Azizah Saedon dan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Datuk Dr Razali Ab Malek.
Katanya, akta sedia ada tidak mencukupi bagi menangani isu berkenaan, namun yang paling utama adalah sikap sesetengah pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab.
Read more: Pencemaran air: Denda lebih tinggi bakal dikenakan
Groups call for action against online sale of unregistered health products
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October 13, 2020 7:45 AM
PETALING JAYA: Health groups and consumer advocates have called for greater regulation of unregistered hand sanitisers that can be purchased easily online, and said there’s no guarantee these products are effective or safe.
Hand sanitisers are considered a cosmetic product, and as such must be registered with the health ministry through the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) before being sold.
However, a number of unregistered products are available for purchase at online retailers for low prices, which are often displayed alongside approved products from well-known brands.
Dr Subramaniam Muniandy, president of the Malaysian Medical Association, told FMT that it “can be a challenge to determine if the products come from a reliable and trusted source,” when buying online.
“Consumers can put their health in serious danger if they buy fake products or products that do not match what was advertised.” He added that it’s important for customers to check if a product is registered before buying anything online.
Read more: Groups call for action against online sale of unregistered health products
PRESS RELEASE: SMART METER CONSUMERS RAISING CONCERN ABOUT THE DEVICE AND THE INSTALLATION PROCEDURE OF CHANGING
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DATE OF RELEASE: 5 OCTOBER 2020
PRESS RELEASE: SMART METER CONSUMERS RAISING CONCERN ABOUT THE DEVICE AND THE INSTALLATION PROCEDURE OF CHANGING
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) and its affiliate the Water and Energy Consumers Associations of Malaysia (WECAM) has been receiving numerous enquiries and complaints on the new Smart Meter which have been installed by the National Electricity provider. Many consumers have been raising their concern on sudden sharp increase in their electricity bills and also the procedures on how to change and how it will impact them.
Currently, the utility provider is in the midst of changing the old meter to SMART meter. It is a usual program that this utility provider replaces aged meter which is beyond accuracy lifespan. There are two type of meters with different accuracy life span: - Electromechanical meter life span is 15 years while Electronic meter is 10 years. The main objective is to ensure accurate meter reading and billing.
The main possible reason for the spike in the electricity bill could be due to the aged meter used earlier which was not recording accurately due to, Faulty meter, Degradation of the mechanical components in the meter or Tampered meter. The replacement of aged meter is a utility prudent practice and it is in accordance to the Electricity Supply Act 1990 (for accurate billing).
Addressing food security for the long term
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October 8, 2020 @ 8:31pm
LETTER: The Asean Economic Recovery Plan is meant to ensure a smooth flow of food supplies among the Asean countries for the post-Covid-19 and because of this and the pandemic, Malaysia needs to re-strategise in order to localise its food supply chain in response to restricted border policies which may take some time to ease.
Due to those restrictions for the time being, local producers will not be able to fully meet the demand for domestic fresh produce and among the reasons are low production capacity, high labour cost, transportation and equipment issues.
These constraints have left them without much choices except for direct sales to market and/or being dependent on wholesalers.
The Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) highlighted that Malaysia's fruits and vegetables import bill has been in excess of RM8.5 billion per year.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2020/10/630712/addressing-food-security-long-term
Water treatment plants not fully operational yet, says Air Selangor
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October 5, 2020 9:08 AM
PETALING JAYA: The Sungai Semenyih and Bukit Tampoi water treatment plants are not fully operational yet after the river was found to be polluted yesterday.
Air Selangor corporate communications head Elina Baseri said that as of 7.30am today, pollution was still being detected with a reading of five threshold odour number (TON) near the Bukit Tampoi plant and seven TON near the Sungai Semenyih plant.
She said Air Selangor could not yet tell when the water supply will be fully restored.
“In the past 14 hours, Air Selangor has not been able to produce the daily 602 million litres of water needed to supply users in the 274 affected areas.
“Air Selangor advises users to get water supply aid from public taps as water tankers will be prioritised for critical premises such as hospitals and dialysis centres,” she said in a statement.
Read more: Water treatment plants not fully operational yet, says Air Selangor
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