I refer to your report Sugar shortage: End monopoly by 'kings' .

The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) is spot on to question the rationale of allowing just four companies to import and refine raw sugar, saying the system must be partly blamed for the current nationwide sugar shortage.

Its director of communications, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, had said in your report: 'We don't see why the country should limit ownership of sugar refineries to four companies which are controlled by just two people - Sugar King Robert Kuok and Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary'.

But let's not blame anyone else. We have only ourselves to blame. Malaysians are still naive and we do not know when to complain. We complain only when it is too late - when the monopoly licences have been granted and we end up paying through our noses.

Dear Malaysians, other than monopolies over sugar, the government has granted one company the monopoly over the security-label packaging for medical products.

The next time you buy any type of medicine or medical product you will see a shiny plastic sticker on the packaging material. This sticker adds 20 sen to the cost of the bottle of medicine. It is some sort of quality standard, certifying that the product meets Malaysian standards. One company holds the monopoly licence over this plastic sticker.

Considering that every bottle of Panadol must also have this sticker, this company (a Sdn Bhd) is quietly making hundreds of million ringgit in profits.

But we don't complain, do we?

The UEM group has the monopoly to import and supply medicines for government hospitals. Now the government wants the consumer to pay more for medicines at government hospitals.

Again, we don't complain.

One private company has been given the monopoly to calibrate and check all weighing machines in use in this country. Charges run from RM7 to RM180 per calibration. Does anyone care about all this?

But Malaysians don't complain.

The Sun newspaper recently exposed the action by the Petaling Jaya City Council (Town Council before) to grant monopolies to two companies for advertising billboards and pest control respectively in Petaling Jaya.

In PJ, if you want to put up a billboard, only the monopoly consortium appointed by the MBPJ can do it for you. The MBPJ has also granted another consortium the monopoly for pest control activities in PJ. If you are a business in PJ - any business - you must get your premises pest- controlled by this monopoly consortium. Otherwise you will not get a business licence. This monopoly consortium charges above market rates. They are also killing off the other pest control companies.

Do we complain? It's too late.

Astro still has the monopoly over satellite TV in the country.

Do we complain? No. We are Malaysians.

The time has come for this country to legislate comprehensive laws which will ban or make illegal monopolistic business practices which burden the consumer. We also have to make illegal oligopolies and cartels.

If we don't, more greedy pirates will appear on the scene and eat up more of our money.