Mac 17, 2023 12:56 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Pengguna boleh mengemukakan tuntutan terhadap agensi kerajaan sekiranya berlaku kemalangan disebabkan keadaan jalan Persekutuan yang rosak atau berlubang.

Timbalan Menteri Kerja Raya, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad berkata, ia berikutan kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan jalan Persekutuan diberikan kepada syarikat konsesi untuk dilaksanakan mengikut perjanjian yang ditandatangani kedua-dua pihak.

"Dengan ini pengguna yang terlibat (dalam kemalangan) boleh mengemukakan tuntutan ganti rugi serta memfailkan saman di mahkamah terhadap syarikat konsesi atau kerajaan Malaysia," katanya di Kamar Khas Dewan Rakyat, di sini, pada Khamis.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada soalan V Ganabatirau (PH-Klang) sama ada pengguna yang terlibat dalam kemalangan disebabkan kerosakan jalan raya boleh membuat tuntutan kepada kerajaan memandangkan kebanyakan jalan di Klang berada dalam keadaan 'uzur'.

Mengulas lanjut, Abdul Rahman memberitahu, mengikut perjanjian konsesi, syarikat konsesi berkenaan mempunyai obligasi untuk menanggung kerugian.

Namun, beliau menjelaskan, beban pembuktian adalah terletak kepada pengguna dengan membuktikan kemalangan tersebut adalah berpunca daripada masalah kerosakan jalan raya dan bukannya akibat kecuaian pemanduan mangsa atau pengguna jalan raya yang lain.

"Untuk apa-apa tuntutan akibat daripada kemalangan seperti kerosakan atau kecederaan yang dialami pengguna disebabkan kerja-kerja konsesi tersebut, pengguna perlu mengemukakan bukti bahawa kemalangan itu adalah berpunca daripada masalah kerosakan," jelasnya.

24 February 2021
MAVCOM has finally taken the bold step to demand that airlines refund affected consumers. In our letter to the editor on July 2020, FOMCA had expressed deep disappointment with the airlines industry for refusing to refund consumers and demanding that consumers accept credit to be used by a stipulated time, instead of their cash refunds.

Consumers have a right to refunds as the service had been cancelled.

Complaints by consumers to MAVCOM were given stock answers that the airlines have been informed to respond to the consumers complaints. The National Consumer Complaints Center (NCCC) request to MAVCOM to facilitate prompt refund to consumers also met with failure.

We had indeed shared our utter disappointment with MAVCOM’s approach towards consumer complaints and request for refunds. We had complained that instead of protecting consumers it allows the airlines leeway to refuse giving consumers their refunds.

Yet, finally MAVCOM recently has directed airlines to refund the affected consumers for flights that had been cancelled as a result of international and local travel restrictions necessitated by the covid-19 pandemic. The instruction from MAVCOM should be a clear and explicit directive to the airlines to refund the affected consumers not a request.

MAVCOM functions under the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code and thus should act to protect consumers as the first priority. FOMCA fully supports the statement by MAVCOM that the airlines should refund to affected consumers the amount equivalent to the cost of the ticket at the time of purchase, including taxes, charges and fees under any written law and charges for optional services.

FOMCA would also urge that the airlines should also add interests for the time that they held the money of the consumers. This is only fair.

February 16, 2021 @ 3:23pm
KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has called for the authorities to categorise retail workers as frontliners.

Its president, Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason, cited the Jalan Telawi cluster which was a case of supermarket workers becoming infected with the Covid-19 virus.

"Supermarket and retail outlet workers have extensive exposure daily to their customers. During the entire pandemic, retail stores have been open to cater to the needs of the rakyat for food and other essentials.

"Retail workers are exposed to their customers, including those who may refuse or neglect to follow the standard SOPs such as wearing masks or keeping a 1m distance from others. This exposes the workers to risk," he said in a statement, today.
On the other hand, he said, if for some reason the workers themselves are infected, especially with no symptoms, they can be a source of infecting other workers and customers, exposing consumers to risk.

Marimuthu added that in some ways, retailers have been on the frontline throughout the pandemic serving consumers in which they live and work.

Throughout the pandemic, consumers have had access to food and other essentials, a crucial component in enabling consumers in facing the lockdowns, he said.

"As such Fomca urges the authorities to move retail workers to the front of the line for early inoculation.

16 December 2020
PETALING JAYA: Insurance companies have been urged to stop increasing the premiums of medical insurance.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association (Fomca) said this will impact the affordability of premiums for policyholders.

“Notices are being sent to policy holders at the time when consumers are still struggling to make ends meet which is very unjust and unfair,” its president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason (pix) said in a statement today.

“Fomca advocates for the deferment of repricing rollout by insurance companies which was initially intended to take effect in 2020. However, due to the severe economic disruption caused by the pandemic, the one-year postponement does not provide enough breathing space for policyholders who remain burdened by economic and employment uncertainties.”

Marimuthu said hospital occupancy has decreased tremendously due to the Covid-19, thus insurance companies will have a lesser pay out compared to previous years.

“It was also reported by the Association of Private Hospitals that private hospitals and clinics have seen a drop of almost 70%, thus resulting in a healthier loss/claims ratio as well as improved overall profitability for insurers,” he said.

“Besides that, with many losing jobs and taking pay cuts, it is both an emotional and financial stress for policy holders keep up with the current premiums, what more if the insurance industry goes ahead with the repricing exercise we fear that many policies would be surrendered or lapse due to premium increase.”

Thursday, 10 Dec 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: Six states recorded a reserve margin of below 15% in treated water during the second quarter of the year, says Deputy Environment and Water Minister (KASA) Datuk Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad.

They are Johor (11.3%), Sabah (8.3%), Perlis (7.1%), Selangor (1.5%), Kelantan (-0.25) and Kedah (-2.3%).

“Through the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) which acts as the regulatory body of the national water services industry, KASA has set the key performance indicators of treated water margin reserves that need to be complied with and achieved by all state water operators at 10 to 15%, ” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Ahmad Masrizal was responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris (BN-Jerantut) on the ministry’s initiative to address the low treated water reserve margin in the country and plans to increase water sources.

For Selangor, he said the completion of the Langat 2 Plant in 2023 would increase the treated water margin reserve to 10%.

For Kelantan, he said completion of the water treatment plant in Kg Teluk, scheduled next year, would increase the water margin reserve to 4%.

“For Kedah, five plants, for which tenders have been approved, are expected to be completed in 2023 and they will increase the water reserve margin to 21%, ” he said.

On the treated water margin reserve for the whole country, Ahmad Masrizal said: “It is at 11.5% or 1.943 million litres per day as of the second quarter of this year.”

Monday, 16 Nov 2020
IT was a tragic incident that took away the life of a 23-year-old model, who was supposed to get married at the end of the year.

A botched liposuction from an unlicensed beauty salon allegedly led to Coco Siew’s untimely death last month (October).

The beauty industry reeled from the news, calling on authorities to take stiffer action against unregistered practitioners to prevent another tragedy.

So far, the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) received 420 complaints this year involving the wellness and aesthetic industry, with most being about refunds.

“Only a handful are involving health-related incidents, ” NCCC senior manager S. Baskaran tells Sunday Star.

In 2018, the NCCC received 1,771 complaints involving the beauty sector, with most disputes on refunds (19.2%), poor service (9.9%) and misleading information (9.3%).

“Some 6.8% of complaints were about health complications with some suffering side effects like irregular heartbeat or headache from slimming drinks or other services, ” he says.

Tuesday, 10 Nov 2020
PETALING JAYA: It’s time once again for the 11.11 online sale, but consumers have been urged to be wary of scammers pretending to be legitimate sellers.

Over 1,520 complaints on the sale of goods online through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were received by the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) over the past 10 months.

“Many have complained that their purchased goods never reached them, ” NCCC senior manager S. Baskaran told The Star Tuesday (Nov 10).

He said the NCCC wanted to warn consumers before the annual online sale begins at 12.01am Wednesday (Nov 11).

“Online shoppers need to be wary each time they buy from online platforms, especially social media.

“Some scammers will disguise themselves as authentic sellers and use the 11.11 sale as their platform to trick more gullible consumers.

“Consumers need to verify if the seller is genuine first. Don’t be an easy prey, ” Baskaran added.

China's Consumer Credit Balance Expected to Exceed 10T Yuan by 2020 | China  Banking NewsWednesday, 11 Nov 2020
ONE of the most important announcements from Budget 2021 is the formulation of a Consumer Credit Act aimed at providing a regulatory framework for the issuance of consumer credit and strengthening the supervision of non-bank credit providers.

Fomca (Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations) has long advocated for this Act to enhance consumer protection in the financial sector.

After the Act is formulated, it is hoped that it would be enforced by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission.

Three credit forms that are of great concern to Fomca are hire purchase, money lending and pawn shops. The Hire Purchase Act is under the jurisdiction of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry while the Moneylenders Act and Pawnbrokers Act are both under the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

There is an urgent need to effectively regulate the interest rates and trade terms of non-bank institutions that provide credit to consumers. Very often, the interest rates are exorbitant while the contractual terms are severely unfair to consumers.

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Nov -- Pengeluaran caruman daripada Akaun 1 Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) secara bersasar disifatkan sebagai langkah terbaik membantu golongan terjejas dalam menampung perbelanjaan isi rumah.

Timbalan Presiden Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman berkata pengeluaran itu dilihat dapat membantu memulihkan kitaran ekonomi masyarakat yang terjejas dan terhimpit.

“Pada masa sama, kerajaan masih meneruskan pengeluaran i-Lestari di Akaun 2 yang dijangka tamat pada Mac tahun hadapan. Sekurang-kurangnya, mereka (pencarum) boleh mengeluarkan sehingga RM1,000 daripada Akaun 1 dan 2 KWSP dalam meringankan beban kewangan mereka akibat wabak COVID-19,” katanya kepada Bernama.

Menteri Kewangan Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz dalam pembentangan Belanjawan 2021 semalam mengumumkan kemudahan pengeluaran Akaun 1 KWSP secara bersasar sebanyak RM500 sebulan dengan jumlah sehingga RM6,000 untuk 12 bulan.

Pada masa sama, katanya, FOMCA menyifatkan pembentangan Belanjawan 2021 sebagai menyeluruh meskipun kerajaan menghadapi pelbagai kekangan daripada segi kewangan.

“Bajet ini juga bukan sahaja mengurangkan bebanan rakyat tetapi pada masa ia bertujuan menggerakkan ekonomi negara,” katanya.

November 07, 2020 15:09 pm +08
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 7): The targeted Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Account 1 withdrawal facility has been described as the best measure to help ease the burden of those affected by Covid-19 with regard to household expenses.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said the facility was seen as being able to help restore the economic cycle of the affected groups.

“At the same time, the government is still continuing the i-Lestari Account 2 withdrawal scheme, which is expected to end in March next year.

“They (contributors) can now withdraw up to RM1,000 from EPF Accounts 1 and 2 to relieve them of their financial burden due to the pandemic,” he told Bernama.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz when tabling Budget 2021 yesterday announced a targeted Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) Account 1 withdrawal facility of RM500 per month, up to a maximum of RM6,000 for 12 months.

Mohd Yusof also described Budget 2021 as being comprehensive despite the government was facing various financial constraints.