KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin believes there is a cure to the high prices of goods in today’s market faced by the average Malaysian consumer.

The adviser to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said research showed that the retail prices of goods can be lowered if there was sufficient willpower to deal with the two biggest factors: the middlemen and enforcement.

“We have done our research, and we find that OK, the prices of things can reduce,” he said in an interview with Astro Awani last night.

He said he had met with many people, including members of cooperatives, who agreed with his view that retail prices can be cheaper than they currently are if they bypassed the middlemen who profit from imposing high fees for their services and which are ultimately passed down to the consumer.

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Daim said he had also discussed with both the Agriculture and Agro-based Ministry and the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry on how to go forward.

“The problem is enforcement. We have to enforce. It’s no use talking. If people do wrong, we must take action. Only then prices of things can be brought down,” he said, urging the government to be strict and swift in taking action.