KUCHING: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) will look into the trade treaty between Malaysia and Indonesia on the issue of discriminatory tax system imposed against the importation of goods.
According to Deputy Minister Chong Chieng Jen, there is certain preferential or discriminatory tax imposed by the Indonesian side which is unnecessary and may constitute a discrimination against importation of goods. He said that his ministry will work together with the Ministry of International Trade to help iron out the issue.
“I think we have a treaty with Indonesia that promotes trade which goes beyond this mere imposition of import duty and goes beyond to cover also this discriminatory tariff system which will hamper free flow of trade between us,” Chong said this during a visit to a food processing factory at Jalan Kuching-Serian near here, yesterday.
He assured that the matter will be attended to and the ministry will come out with an answer soon. Meanwhile, Chong who is also Member of Parliament for Stampin urged the public to be aware of the prices of goods.
He said drinks in coffee shops are not controlled items and as such his ministry at the moment does not have any fix ceiling price and also the controlled prices.
“Basically, we still believe in our system of free trade, until or unless it is absolutely necessary then we will come out with both ceiling and controlled prices. Otherwise, the general policy of the ministry and the government is free trade. We believe free trade will result in lowering of prices.
“That is why I am making this public and leave it to the consumers to make their own decision whether they want to continue patronising a certain place,” Chong said.
He also noted that his ministry will continue to monitor the situation and will enforce the Anti-Profiteering Act which is at their disposal.
“Our officers will continue to monitor the situation and what we have at our disposal is the Anti-Profiteering Act which emphasises on making profit margin higher than before the implementation of the Sales and Services Tax (SST).
Also present was State KPDNHEP director, Dato Stanley Tan.
