Think of ways to reduce prices, not punish restaurant operators - Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR - The government needs to find a way to reduce prices of raw materials to ensure that people are able to buy food at a cheaper price, instead of punishing restaurants operators, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The former prime minister was responding to a statement by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli yesterday (Saturday) asking consumers to be more proactive in their response to the high prices and “boycott” restaurants that sell food at unreasonable prices.

Ismail Sabri said such statement was not helpful to the people and instead would make the lives of restaurant owners and food stall operators harder.

"If the prices of raw ingredients like fish and vegetables become higher, then for sure they will raise their prices.

"Supposedly, if the price of raw materials are expensive, then the government must make sure that these prices can be reduced to help restaurant operators sell food at a cheaper price.

"The government should have thought of this instead of easily making statements as if they are incapable of solving the matter and resorted to punishing restaurant operators," he said during the MCA Chinese New Year celebration at Wisma MCA, here, today.

On Dec 23, last year, Rafizi advised consumers to boycott restaurant operators that charge them excessively in comparison to the average price charged by other operators.

He believed that the awareness will pressure traders to lower their prices.

Meanwhile, commenting on the issue of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal, Ismail Sabri said a lot of people did not agree with it during his administration.

“When I was in service, many were making noises when we were studying whether EPF withdrawal needed to be done and eventually we decided to withdraw the EPF.

“I hope this time the people would make their voices heard if they want special EPF withdrawals," he said.