Is there no end to the silliness and the absurdity of the campaign against pornographic and pirated VCDs?

The government now wants to include these discs in the controlled-items list. To be frank, I don't care whether the prices of these items are controlled or not.

If the recording industry continues to think they can charge what they like and get away with it, so be it.

The government said that recording companies should change their mindset and stop insisting that current prices are reasonable in comparison to that in other countries.

Pardon me, but isn't this the same excuse used by many other companies on the government's privatisation policy?

The government has on countless occasions used the same argument when the public questioned Telekom charges, taxi fares, ERL fares to KLIA, water rate and toll charges, among other payments.

Surely these companies should be asked to divulge their pricing structure, more than those producing luxury goods such as VCDs and music CDs.

It is very simple to overcome high CD prices - consumer can top buying them. I have stopped buying music CDs for nearly three years now. These days, I listen to music on radio.

But can I do the same about Telekom, water and toll charges?