Not available: A shopper looking at limited sugar options in a sundry shop in Kuala Lumpur. — YAP CHEE HONG /The Star
KOTA TINGGI: More enforcement raids should be conducted by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry on sundry shops in rural areas, as offences there often go unnoticed, say restaurant owners.
Asam Pedas Sedili owner Omar Uyob, 57, said he was forced to buy a packet of premium sugar at RM4.60 for a 1kg pack if he wanted to buy coarse sugar priced at RM2.85 per pack.
“It’s a bit hard to find raw materials in rural areas such as Sedili, so we have to depend entirely on the supply from sundry stores, but at the same time, this is what they have been practising in running their business.
“So I hope that ministry can also pay attention to stores outside the city and ensure that shop owners adhere to the regulations,” he said.
Omar added that he also could not afford to raise the prices of food sold in his restaurants for fear of losing customers.
“When outsiders come to Sedili, the first thing that comes to mind is the cheap seafood and fish, so if we serve them expensive food, they might compare it with other places that are closer to them and stop coming here.
“At the same time, the majority of the people in Sedili are villagers and B40 [lower income group] families, so increasing the price even by a small margin will definitely affect them,” he explained.
Sharing the same concern is Felda Lok Heng Anjung Botani Restaurant owner Mohamad Nazren Abu Samah, 28, who shared that he was forced to increase the price of food and drinks twice this year following issues with the supply of sugar.
“There are cases where sundry shop owners hide their sugar supply and customers have to ask the cashiers if they want to buy it; there are also times when the store owners would not let restaurant owners buy sugar from their shop.
“I have no issues if they do such regulations on packet cooking oil, but to do the same control on sugar is too much when they could have just put it on their usual rack and set the purchasing limit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr LokLok restaurant owner Mohd Radzi Ab Wahab, 41, said that his main issue is the lack of coarse sugar and the oversupply of premium sugar in the market.
“We cannot afford to buy premium sugar as we would have to increase the prices of our drinks, which in the end would hurt the customers.
“Our restaurant’s menu is heavily focused on drinks, which means we need a huge supply of sugar, and this issue has forced us to increase our prices by about 15% to cover the cost of getting those raw materials from other places.
“I believe that ministry should step up its enforcement and look into this matter, as it has been going on for a year now with no concrete solutions at hand,” he said, adding that he often received complaints from his customers regarding price increases.
