I can't help but feel disappointed at the shortsightedness of the letter by Consumer Association of Penang president SM Mohd Idris urging Bank Negara to take action against Malaysian banks for introducing and increasing bank fees on their products.

Firstly, it is the banks' right to impose any charges that they deem fit on any of their products and services. Businesses must be allowed to charge for whatever they want for their products. This is a very important trait that must be defended in any market economy.

In the case of Maybank's Internet banking system, consumers can opt to stop using the service or move their money to another bank that offers free Internet banking services. Nobody is forcing the RM12 charge down the throats of Maybank2u.com users.

Market forces should be allowed to rule. More often than not, it will rule favourably for the consumer. For example, when Maybank started charging 50 sen for every withdrawal after the forth withdrawal of the month, I moved my money for daily expenditure to another local bank.

Today, I still take out money for my daily expenses without incurring any additional charges. Consumers should be educated to exercise their rights without compromising free market principals.

For example, many consumers I know won't be moving away from Maybank2u, because their services are one of the most comprehensive in the country. The one ringgit monthly charge rakes in profit for Maybank while saving of time and effort for the consumer which many feel is worth thousands more. It is a classic free market relationship.

Businesses have the right to increase their prices even if they are making huge profits. Businesses do not have a moral obligation to anybody but their shareholders. Being in the business of making money is not a crime. Just as Bank Negara doesn't license banks to rip consumers off, it doesn't license consumer associations to chastise legitimate business entities for making a profit.

The only instance at which the CAP should urge regulatory bodies like Bank Negara to act is when our local banks start operating like a cartel. A cartel is when a group of organisations gang up to limit competition and fix prices.

In that instance, consumers will be unfairly burdened. The CAP has highlighted no such cartel within the Malaysian banking system.

Secondly, rather than asking for Bank Negara's intervention in the bank fees saga, CAP should be lobbying for quicker liberalisation of the banking industry to encourage more competition.

I remember the days when Malaysia Airlines used to say that they wanted to terminate certain domestic routes because local flights were unprofitable. Today, AirAsia has shown us that cheap domestic flights are a profitable reality.

Spurred by competition, Malaysia Airlines, has also been offering various cheap flights through various promotions like their SuperSaver programme. All of this was possible because the government decided to liberalise (although admittedly in a limited form) the airline industry.

Encouraging interference by local authorities will also send the wrong message to the international community. Which investor wouldn't be wary with an ever intervening government in their business models?

This in the long term will be even more detrimental to the average consumer. The biggest driver for championing the rights of consumer shouldn't be suppression of businesses by the government but by the creation of choices.

A farsighted CAP would have seen this.