GROWING AWARENESS ON CONSUMER RIGHTS AMONG PUBLIC - KPDN

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 25 (Bernama) — The Penang office of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) received 183 complaints in less than a month, demonstrating a growing awareness of consumer rights among the public.

The ministry’s enforcement director in Penang, S. Jegan, said it was also driven by the agility of enforcement through various operations including Op Gempur and Op Tiris which have been carried out since the beginning of this year in curbing leakages, especially involving the supply of controlled goods.

He said of the 183 complaints received since Jan 1 this year, 68 of them were related to the price of goods and services and 20 were related to the supply of controlled items.

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 "Until now, we have also inspected 4,833 premises in Penang and 96 cases recorded for various offences with goods worth RM285,683.22 seized and compound totalling RM16,000.

"We believe that consumers are becoming aware of their rights and know that KPDN can take action. That’s why they are brave to come forward to make complaints," he said.

He told this to reporters after monitoring the price of goods in conjunction with the implementation of the Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP) at a supermarket here, today.

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Jegan said his office takes every complaint seriously and assures that it will be resolved within 14 days.

 Regarding the SHMMP, he said a total of 137 enforcement officers and 62 price monitoring officers were assigned at strategic locations such as public markets, farmers' markets and shopping centres to carry out inspections in the state.

—BERNAMA