PUTRAJAYA, April 16 (Bernama) — The Enforcement Division (BPGK) of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP), which will be celebrating its golden jubilee this year, is determined to be the backbone of the ministry in protecting the interests of consumers and ensuring that traders always comply with the law.
Established on April 17, 1972 as a result of the hard work of then Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Khir Johari, BPGK started with only 12 officers before increasing its staffing to 311 in 1981 when the country faced the issue of rising prices of goods with an inflation rate of over six per cent.
KPDNHEP enforcement director Azman Adam, in a special interview held recently in conjunction with the KPDNHEP Enforcement Day 50th anniversary celebration, said with the strength of 2,234 enforcement officers and personnel, BPGK now carries out daily enforcement and monitoring throughout the country.
“We plan to have up to 5,000 enforcement officers nationwide to strike a balance between the number of premises, complaints and challenges faced.
“Despite facing a shortage of manpower, it is not an excuse for us not to carry out our duties. (However,) if we have additional staff, we would be able to increase our presence (in the field),” he said.
With the theme ‘Komited Mendepani Cabaran’ for its golden jubilee celebration, BPGK which is also KPDNHEP frontliners, is determined to face future challenges, especially on the issue of supply and price of goods, and protect the rights of consumers.
“Among our focus is to regulate the supply and price of goods based on the provisions of existing laws, namely the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 so as to ensure that consumers can easily obtain essential goods at reasonable prices,” he said.
Azman said according to statistics from 2018 to February 2022, BPGK had generated 2,283 cases involving enforcement actions under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, with a total seizure value of RM69.43 million.
During the same period, a total of 1,540 cases had been generated under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 with a total seizure value of RM1.69 million, involving controlled goods such as sugar, wheat flour, cooking oil and COVID-19 test kits.
Regarding consumer protection, Azman said the division continuously monitors online businesses and transactions as well as cases involving halal issues.
Elaborating, he said there had been an increase in online purchases during the implementation of the Movement Control Order from March 2020 and as such, KPDNHEP through BPGK was committed to making sure that buyers were not deceived or manipulated by irresponsible traders.
In terms of complaints management, he said every complaint received will be investigated by the appointed investigating officer within 21 days and the results of the investigation will be reported directly to the complainant through the KPDNHEP e-aduan portal.
Meanwhile, Azman said BPGK also faced the challenges of rising input costs, especially those imported from abroad, which has given a direct impact on the prices of goods in the country.
“For example, the issue of chicken and eggs price hike which occurred in August 2021. The increase in the costs of input especially imported ones like soy and corn has resulted in a significant increase in the price of chicken,” he said.
Therefore, he said KPDNHEP had taken various measures to stabilise the price of chicken at that time, including through the implementation of the Malaysian Family Maximum Price Scheme (SHMKM) apart from ensuring the availability of supply.
Moving forward, he said the division also changed its working approach from ‘hard enforcement’ to adopting technology such as through the Integrated Enforcement Management System (IEMS).
“With this system, the data obtained is also more accurate and can be updated quickly, in accordance with the increasingly challenging enforcement tasks,” he said.
Azman also stressed that BPGK was not meant to restrict the actions of traders, but instead it has a great responsibility in ensuring a fair and conducive business environment.
“Consumers are also advised to be more prudent in managing daily expenses, including planning and using their rights so as not to be manipulated by unethical traders,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency