If you are an ardent fan of roti canai, teh tarik and various types of local kuih, be prepared to dole out extra cash to savour these delicacies.

The side effect of the increase of prices in most of the essential commodities has seen prices of everyday items increasing in tandem too.

A survey by malaysiakini around Bangsar and Brickfields found that the prices of most food items are up for a rise soon, if it has not happened already.

Stall owners and kuih sellers told malaysiakini that they had little choice but to increase the prices of their food items.

Alternatively, they are warning that they would reduce the size of the products to be sold at the same old price.

"I will lose my customers if I suddenly increase the price of my curry puffs from 30 sen to 40 sen," said trader Mala from Bangsar ( photo ).

"The only thing I can do is make the size of the curry puffs smaller than before," she added.

Her sentiments were echoed by several other small business holders.

Costly raw materials

In recent weeks prices of essential food items such as flour, cooking oil, milk powder and canned products had a surge in prices.

Higher transportation costs and increase of prices in raw materials have been attributed to the price rise in the essential food items.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal was quoted in the media yesterday as saying that the price rise of the food items were inevitable.

"(But) we don't want food outlets and others to take advantage of this announcement by raising the price of roti canai or noodles," he had said.

"A price hike of one or two sen is okay but it must be in proportion to the price increase for each kilogramme. Surely you don't use one kilogramme of flour to make one roti canai," Shafie added.

However this view was not shared by traders interviewed by malaysiakini .

Monitoring profiteers

The owner of the Selvam Sundry Shop in Brickfields G Nagandiran said the price increase to the goods in his shop would be proportionate to the rise imposed by the manufacturers.

"At the moment my customers have stopped buying things due to the rise in prices but I expect them to start coming back soon," he said.

He also claimed that the sudden increase in prices could be due to the recent government announcement of a salary hike for civil servants.

"The salary hike has not taken place but the prices of goods have already gone up," he lamented.

Shahir Abdullah, 26, who owns a sundry shop in Bangsar, claimed that his customers were constantly complaining over the price rise.

"As a trader, I realise that I should not just increase the prices," he said.

To curb any sharp rise in prices, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry said it would be sending its enforcement officers to monitor the prices of food items and act against profiteers.