KUCHING: Traders should head straight to the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK) office if they are unhappy with any action imposed by the ministry.
Complaining to a third party and debating this in newspapers would not solve any problems, said KPDNKK state deputy director Mohd Nor Musa.
Speaking to reporters at the Stutong Community Market after a working visit with Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, he said aggrieved traders could file their complaints in writing.
“If they want to take this to court, we are ready to go meet them there,” he said when asked to comment on reports that traders in a shopping complex in Jalan Song were disappointed with the conduct of KPDNKK officers who raided them last January 9 and 19.
Batu Kawah assemblywoman Christina Chiew claimed the traders were not aware that they needed a permit to hold cheap sale.
She argued that as first time offenders, they should be given a warning letter instead of having their goods seized.
Mohd Nor said the enforcement officers were just doing their job following a complaint from a consumer over prices at that shopping complex.
“Upon inspection, they did not send us a notice and this is an offence under the Cheap Sale Price Regulation 1997,” he said, explaining that a trader must send a notice to the ministry 14 days before holding the cheap sale.
“The notice is important to allow enforcement officers to inspect the sales price first to make sure the cheap sale price is legitimate.
“We don’t want a situation where a trader jacks up the price of a RM100 shirt to RM200, before giving a 50 per cent discount.”