Frequent complaints about deceptive tactics and inflated charges by food establishments have been pouring into the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) in Melaka.
Among the grievances, the once-free sambal belacan is now priced at RM3.
KPDN Melaka has logged over 90 complaints regarding exorbitant food prices since the start of the year.
Common complaints include sambal belacan being priced at RM3, a piece of fried chicken at RM8.50, a food packaging fee of 70 sen, and plain fried noodles costing as much as RM7.
Accoding to Kosmo!, Norena Jaafar, the Director of KPDN Melaka, mentioned that inspections were conducted at several of the implicated establishments.
Some owners had not updated and clearly displayed the new prices.
“Last year, we received 77 complaints. Out of these, 12 were due to the failure to display price tags, and the rest involved displaying old and misleading prices.
“This year, within just six months, we have received over 90 complaints about high prices of food and goods at restaurants, stalls, and food trucks. Inspections revealed that some establishments were not displaying price tags and failed to provide receipts,” she explained.
She further elaborated that the reasons given by the owners included miscalculations, sudden increases in ingredient prices during festive seasons, forgetting to update the new prices, and blaming foreign shop assistants for the errors.
“In one instance, the tail portion of a pomfret was mistakenly charged at RM15, while the actual price was RM8. When confronted, they claimed it was a mistake. These are just excuses,” she added.
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