NST : Better waste disposal via National Cleanliness Policy

KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation of the National Cleanliness Policy would include a roadmap for an improved and more organised waste management system to create greater awareness on the matter.Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the initiative would be launched tomorrow by Melaka Chief Minister Adly Zahari at the Tehel People’s Housing Programme for the Hardcore Poor (PPRT) to promote cleanliness.

“It is time for us to create a guideline with a target to manage the nation’s waste from the local authorities, scrap metal and construction industries, and botanical waste and e-waste.“We will be setting a guideline under the policy to ensure thorough and conducive management of waste,” she told the media during an exclusive interview in Parliament on Tuesday.She said the policy would focus on 196 PPRT nationwide to inculcate cleanliness, with community service being proposed for those caught littering.“We must educate the people so that they will make it a habit to throw their garbage properly. We need to put a stop to littering by naming and shaming those who do it.”As for the community service punishment, she said it was required as part of the education awareness initiative.“If we impose a fine, people can just pay and get over the fact that they have broken the law.”

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FOMCA : Budget 2020 and House Buying Consumers, Dato Paul Selvaraj, CEO FOMCA

Houses in Malaysia are simply unaffordable for many Malaysians.  There is a serious mismatch between incomes and house prices. According to Khazanah Research Institute and Bank Negara Malaysia, the signal of a well-functioning affordable home market is when the median price for the whole housing market is three times the gross annual household income. Bank Negara would add that the monthly payment for the house should not be more than 30% of the income. Payments of more than 30% would be considered as an overburden for the consumer.Based on the above criteria, Bank Negara would suggest that an affordable home in Malaysia based on the monthly median income of RM4, 585 and the annual median income of RM 55,020 is between RM 165,000 and RM 242,000. Yet what is the current price of houses?

Overall in Malaysia, houses prices are 4.4 times the median income. Further, zeroing in on the states, house prices in Kuala Lumpur is 5.4 times, in Pulau Pinang is 5.2 times, in Johor is 4.2 times and in Selangor is 4.0 times. Further while according to Bank Negara the affordable home is at RM 242,000, in actual fact the average price of houses in Kuala Lumpur is RM 773,000,while in Selangor it is RM 497,000 at the third quarter of 2018. To put it simply, houses in Malaysia are simply not affordable to consumers.The efforts, through policy and programs then, should be to reduce the price of houses to the affordable range of about RM 250,000 to RM 300,000. Yet, in 2016 only 25% of new housing launches were priced below RM 250,000. There was a gross oversupply of houses above RM 500,000 and under-supply of houses below RM 250,000. No wonder the mismatch between demand and supply.

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ENERGY CONFERENCE 2019: "Energy Efficiency:Conservation.Not Deprivation"

We are honored to invite you to the 3rd Energy Conference titled " Energy Efficiency:Conservation.Not Deprivation" An additional step forward in educating people from multiple sector on energy efficiency and current energy related practices in Malaysia. The event will be held in collaboration between Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association & Tenaga Nasional Berhad at the Berjaya Waterfront Hotel , Johor Bahru on Tuesday , 22nd October 2019 at 8.00 a.m to 4.30 p.m. The event is free of charge and the seats are limited, so book your seats now either by scanning the qr code or visiting this link :https://www.eventbrite.com/e/energy-conference-tickets-73919448059

FOMCA: 2019 Global Financial Consumer Forum

FOMCA's President Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason have attended the 2019 Global Financial Consumer Forum on behalf of FOMCA.The IAFICO is a global communication platform for scholars, regulators, and practitioners to present their latest research and share insights about protection for financial consumers as well as international development cooperation in finance.This conference will examine the potential of financial technology to advance financial inclusion, changing consumer protection and regulatory needs, and emerging opportunities for greater international development cooperation in finance. The focus areas will include evolving consumer behavior, business ethics and best practices of financial institutions, regulatory safeguards, and financial education.

STAR ONLINE : Banks axe transaction fees

PETALING JAYA: All 26 commercial banks in Malaysia have decided to drop the charges for certain cash and cheque transactions for credit card and financing repayments, just two days after widespread public uproar.The charges were initially RM2 per transaction over the counter, and 50 sen for payments made using cash deposit machines and cheque deposit machines.In a statement yesterday, the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) said its member banks would stop charging the fees.Some had already begun imposing the charges while others planned to implement them soon.“Currently, certain customer segments are already waived these charges, which are disabled persons and senior citizens.“For walk-in customers, there are available free and convenient alternatives to conduct banking transactions and obtain services as provided via automated teller machines (ATMs),” it said.

ABM added that its member banks would be communicating with their customers via their respective communication touch points, including their websites, and were ready to assist their customers to familiarise themselves with these alternative channels or on any queries they might have in relation to this matter.Non-government organisations and consumer groups previously said this would have forced consumers to fork out extra to pay their loan instalments and credit card bills and would only profit the banks.Since 2015, cheques in general already have a 50 sen processing fee imposed and Bank Negara had said in 2017 that this would be increased to RM1 from January 2021 and gradually thereafter, to reflect the actual cost of cheque processing.Back in 2016, the cost incurred by banks to process a single cheque is RM4 and this is estimated to be about RM6 by next year.

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