KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The National Consumer Advisory Council (NCAC) has recommended that the government overcome the country’s dependence on imports, especially food products, in the mid and long-term.
Welcoming Prime Minsiter Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s immediate focus on cost of living issues, NCAC chairman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said the measure was important to ensure domestic industries are developed to sustain and stablise domestic need.
"As such, measures prioritising domestic production must be made to create suitable incentives for local industries,” he said in a statement today.
He added that targeted subsidies was a suitable rationalisation of policies, but needed to be implemented with an efficient mechanism to ensure that necessities were not subject to monopolies and exploitation by big industries.
Cost of living includes food, utilities, transport, health, housing and education, all of which need to be the main focus on the government and supported by producers, traders and consumers, he said.
Anwar had given the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) to prepare a proposal on targeted subsidies after chairing a special meeting with the council yesterday.
He said the subsidies borne by the government currently, including the electricity subsidy, was enjoyed by everyone even though it was meant to help the poor.
-- BERNAMA
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