KUCHING – The rising cost of living may dampen the mood for Chinese New Year celebrations, with sales of festive items likely to be affected.
In making this observation, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak secretary-general Datuk Jonathan Chai said the prices of goods and services had already escalated significantly after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Due to the rising cost of living and the anticipated challenges to be encountered in the coming year, the festive mood would likely be dampened, and the sales of traditional festive-related items like biscuits, mandarin oranges, nuts, and also decorative items are expected to be adversely affected to a certain extent,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Nonetheless, Chai expressed hope that the Madani government, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, would address logistic issues and transportation costs that had contributed to the rising prices of goods in Sarawak so far.
“Just to quote a few examples, a cup of coffee at a coffee shop here easily costs around RM2.50 now, and if you have a wedding banquet at a restaurant, you’d have to pay around RM800 per table, a phenomenon that was unseen before the pandemic.”
Chai acknowledged that the higher cost of living could be attributed to the rise in labour costs due to the revision of the statutory minimum wage and also to the rising cost of raw materials due to inflationary pressures happening globally.
Depreciation of the ringgit currency might also be a contributing factor, he added.
In this regard, Chai pointed out that it is vital for the country to maintain political stability to attract foreign investors to the country.
“Most importantly, it’s time for the politicians and lawmakers to focus their time and energy on coming up with ways to develop our economy and bring down the cost of living, rather than wasting their efforts wrestling over power.”
Chai believes that the nation’s economy would flourish and the ringgit would appreciate upon receiving an influx of foreign investments and achieving a favourable balance of trade.
“Of course, we hope that all geopolitical tensions and turmoil around the world will be resolved soon so that the supply chain of goods can return to normal as soon as possible,” he said. – January 15, 2024