Consumption defines the identity of the human being in today's globalised consumer society.

During the worst period of the financial crisis in 2009, an American was asked about its impact on him. His response, " You don't consume, you have no identity."

The visual symbols of modern consumption indicate not only the status of individuals but also the economic development of nations.

I was in Gurgaon, India, recently and everywhere one could not escape the signs of rapid industrialisation and internationalised economic development.

toll booth highway There were congested highways, tolls, modern office buildings, and shopping malls that had more international brands than Indian products.

The inequalities too are obvious.

The hegemony of the market is everywhere. The loss of traditional ways of life seems imminent. Not only in India but this is the scenario in the modern world.

Consumption has become synonymous with democracy and economic development.

We have been reduced to shoppers and surviving in a consumer society is fraught with challenges. Access to basic goods and services is the first right of consumers.

But purchasing quality basic requirements to live a decent life is not easy as the abuses in the market place continue to increase.

Last week, the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) released its 2009 annual report which showed an increase of 16.7 percent in consumer complaints compared to 2008.

Consumers suffered losses amounting to RM210 million due to faulty goods and poor quality services.

These complaints are from one entity that receives and resolves consumer complaints. If the complaints from all agencies both government and non-governmental are quantified,they may amount to many more millions in losses to consumers.

The highest number of consumer compl yoga aints was about direct sales/scams followed by housing, communications and multimedia, future services ( yoga, fitness and slimming), quality of products and services, public transport, financial services, hospitality, government agencies and services and hire purchase.

Many of these categories of complaints have appeared in the annual reports of consumer organisations since the 1970s when the consumer movement began to flourish in Malaysia.

Why have these consumer complaints continue to persist?

Consumer complaints

Consumer complaints are a window to problems in society. Although the world of consumption today is very different from the 1970s, consumer concerns such as being cheated in the market place remain.

Dumping shoddy goods in the market place, providing poor services and cheating consumers reflect the level of ethics practised by the business community.

The alarming increase in consumer complaints further mirrors the government's inability to protect its citizen consumers.

marimuthu interview 260408 fomca logo Fomca (Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations) asserts that the existing consumer protection laws and regulations in the country are not being enforced effectively.

Inferior and hazardous goods can only be dumped in an environment where law enforcement is weak, businesses are unethical and consumer literacy is low.

In countries where the level of consumer protection is high, consumers are guaranteed better quality of products and services.

Self regulation is apparently not working in Malaysia. There was hardly any response from the regulators on the increasing number of consumer complaints reported by consumer groups such as the NCCC.

Codes of conduct such as the Malaysian Code of Business Ethics seem to be ineffective and lack the bite of laws.The self-regulatory structure of Malaysian business certainly needs to come under the microscope of regulators and enforcers for improvement and efficacy.

Consumer-empowerment laws can only be effective if there is a high level of consumer literacy in the country. Access to information and the ability to understand the information are important tools in the development of consumer literacy.

The NCCC points out that many consumers do not read the small print in contracts before signing them.

Most of the complaints that were unresolved by the NCCC were related to housing. Consumers could not be compensated as the complaints were related to abandoned housing projects.

For years consumer organizations have advocated for a ‘build first and sell policy' for housing but developers have resisted against such a policy.

Wider consumer concerns

There are wider consumer concerns too such as for the environment, for social justice and for economic, social and cultural rights.

Consumers will support businesses that are ethical, socially and ecologically responsible.

This is evident in the growth of the green movement, fair trade groups, slow food entities, organic farming and other consumer related initiatives which examine the impact of consumption on people and the planet.

But consumer apathy remains a major obstacle in improving the consumer protection regime in this country.

shoppers at supermarket after tsunami threat from chile earthquake Despite the increase in the number of complaints to consumer organisations, many more maladies in the market place are not addressed.

Consumers do not want to complain because it takes time, are not aware of their rights or may not have access to complaint centres such as the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

State governments and local authorities together with consumer organisations need to do much more for poor rural consumers who do not have access to consumer centres.

Shoddy goods such as rusty canned food long past the shelf-life, spurious drugs or faulty appliances are often dumped in these rural areas sometimes by travelling salesmen.

Such market place injustices should not happen in the new millennium particularly as a Consumer Master Plan (2003-2013) has been drawn up to be implemented over a ten year period.

It contains 287 recommendations covering the institutional and legal framework of consumer protection, strengthening consumer education and information.

The recommendations includes consumer protection in the areas of food, health, utilities, transport, environment, housing, consumer credit, etc.

The plan emphasises the integration of the principles of sustainability - economic, social and environmental into the national development process.

If all the measures in the plan are adopted, Malaysia would have a consumer protection regime that will ensure the survival of Malaysian consumers in an increasingly globalised market place fraught with challenges.

JOSIE M FERNANDEZ is currently an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow, director of Philanthropy Asia, researcher and engages with Transparency International Malaysia in anti-corruption measures. An educationist, Josie moved on to citizen's advocacy taking up the cudgels for consumers, children, women, environment ... She holds a masters degree in development management from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. Working on sustainability, philanthropy and anti-corruption actions are some of her current passions besides writing.