Chong takes up Foo’s challenge, releases lists of cheaper goods due to SST

Lee (left) and former Stampin MP Julian Tan at the press conference in Kuching today (Jan 23, 2019).

By Lian Cheng

KUCHING, Jan 23: Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) has released the lists of goods for which prices had come down when compared to 2018 figures.

Brandon Lee, assistant to Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen who is also Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, said the public could visit Chong’s personal website to have a look at the lists.

Lee said Chong put up the list in response to the statement by Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth secretary Milton Foo yesterday, where he said the Pakatan Harapan-led federal government should stop misleading the public by saying that prices of goods were cheaper after the introduction of the Sales and Services Tax (SST).

Foo challenged Chong to furnish the comparison lists of items that Chong claimed to be cheaper after the SST implementation.

Lee said Chong’s website displays lists of goods’ prices in 10 supermarkets in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu, and in each list, 90 items are listed for comparison.

Lee, at a press conference at the Sarawak DAP headquarters today, also cited, as an example, three items for which prices had reduced in comparison to 2018.

On Jan 18, 2018, he said a kilogramme of cauliflower cost RM7.80, but on Jan 19, 2019, it cost only RM3.49 per kg.

“That is RM4.30 reduction in cauliflower price and 55 per cent cheaper,” said Lee.

He also brought up the price of Daisy Margarine (480g) at Emart, which was RM8.10 on Jan 18, 2018, and on Jan 19, 2019, RM7.10.

“It is cheaper by RM1, which is 12 per cent cheaper.”

He also cited maize cooking oil of the Daisy brand, which was sold at RM12.40 last year but this year, it was RM10.50, which is RM1.90 cheaper. — DayakDaily