KUCHING, Aug 12 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) will devise a mechanism to lower the prices of beverages in coffee shops across Sarawak, said its deputy minister Chong Chieng Jen.
He said the ministry would also look into the proposals submitted by the coffee shop operators in Sarawak.
Chong said it was a move to prevent entrepreneurs from profiteering by charging their patrons higher prices.
He was speaking to reporters after a dialogue session with members of the Sarawak Coffee Shop Dealers Association (SCSDA) here today.
According to Chong, during the dialogue session, members of the association also voiced some of the problems they faced in relation to the pricing of beverages, the minimum wage of workers, copyright, and the rising prices of essential items from suppliers.
Chong said that at present, there were differences in prices of beverages among the shops, much to the ire of consumers.
He said although the GST had been scrapped, there were coffee shops that had still not reduced their prices.
“Our goal is to make the prices of beverages at all coffee shops to be standardised,” Chong said.
On the pricing of food at stalls operating within the coffee shop premises, Chong admitted it was difficult to control and standardise.
SCSDA president Hii Hung Yii was also present at the dialogue. — Bernama
