The rising cost of living is due to rampant corruption - Tun M

PUTRAJAYA - The rising cost of living in Malaysia is due to rampant corruption, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said when every business and affair has an element of corruption it will cause the price of goods to increase and become more expensive.

“The main issue is corruption, costs are increasing because of it.

“There are many cheap items but when everything is intertwined with corruption, the price will increase contributing to high costs of living

“There are other matters but corruption is one of the key factors on why cost of living can not be reduced,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said this after attending the Bumiputera Entrepreneurs e-Forum ‘Building Bumiputera Economic Resilience and Future Challenges’ at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, here, on Saturday.

When asked about Malaysia’s economic performance he stated the government has yet to solve the cost of living issues that were burdening the people.

“The issue is still there, there is no concrete plans to reduce the cost of living other than telling individuals to stop eating chicken if it is too expensive.

“That is not the solution,” he said.

However Dr Mahathir who is also the former Langkawi MP predicted that Malaysia was capable of weathering the global economic recession this year.

He said he believed Malaysia will be saved as it has local productions capable of piercing into the foreign market such as the glove industry and medical components.

“The export market proves to be successful, however the state of our country with its high cost of living continues to impede on its recovery.

“Certain individuals especially the poor can’t sustain themselves without work they are also not able to keep up with the rapid economic growth,” he said. - AWANI