KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Former Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin is currently talking to local cooperatives in a bid to find the best solution to break the monopoly enjoyed by middlemen in business, especially in the small industries.
He hoped the solution to break the middlemen stranglehold on business could be found in the next couple of months.
“Hopefully, in the next couple of months, we will be able to do it (break the middlemen monopoly),” he told reporters on the sidelines of the ISIS PRAXIS Conference 2019 here, today.
Daim was the speaker for the last session of the two-day conference, entitled ISIS PRAXIS Conference 2019 Wrap-up Chat: Reflection, Insights and Ways Forward which was moderated by Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Datuk Seri Azman Ujang.
Daim said fishermen in villages do not enjoy the actual profit from their hard work as the middlemen took advantage of them.
He gave an example where rural fishermen sold their freshly-caught mackerel at around RM7 per-kg to middlemen, but the middlemen re-sold the fish at RM22 per-kg in urban areas for a hefty profit.
Both fishermen and the consumers according to him, were not happy with the price of mackerel they got with the middlemen enjoying the most monetary benefit from the hike-up price.
Asked on the role of education, he said parents cannot depend solely on teachers alone.
“We can’t solely depend on teachers to educate students but also it is the parents’ responsibility to equip them with certain skills.
“Families need to be involved too. It shouldn’t be about getting degrees but also to teach children to think, solve problems, be confident and be able to compete,” he said.
Meanwhile, on press freedom, Daim said that there was a lot of freedom after the Pakatan Harapan government took over.
“People are free to say what they like, and there is a proposal to set up a media council which is good. For those in media, what they experienced in the previous regime won’t be repeated again but the press also needs to be responsible,” he added.
The two days conference themed “Malaysia Beyond 2020” was officiated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday.
Also participated in the conference were prominent speakers including former International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and media and communications advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office, Datuk A Kadir Jasin. — Benama
