The Penang domestic trade and consumer department aims to establish consumer clubs in all schools and neighbourhood watches (Rukun Tetangga or RT) this year.

It also seeks to revitalise the idling 'Skuad Bakul' - a team comprising housewives set-up by the department several years ago to provide feedback on trading activities and ethics in their respective areas.

Although the squad has 1,031 registered volunteers, department deputy director Mohd Ismail Kalandar Mastan complained that only two of them were carrying out their task actively.

He said the department will call for a meeting with the volunteers soon. "We have to go back to the existing volunteers and recruit new ones to assist us," he added.

Among the RT, only seven of the 20 groups in the state have active consumer clubs.

Early this year, the department briefed representatives from all RT to set up their respective consumer clubs.

"RT must realise that public assistance had always been important in monitoring and nabbing unscrupulous traders who tend to hike up prices of controlled items, hide stocks and sell imitation items.

"As a grassroots organisation, RT have a pivotal role to play in creating awareness among residents in a particular area to carry out their own surveillance and provide feedback for us to act," said Mohd Ismail.

Starting young

As for schools, a majority of the 250 schools in the state have active consumer clubs.

However, Mohd Ismail said the department wants all schools to have consumer clubs to educate students on consumerism, consumer rights and ethical trade practices.

This year, the department will organise a total of 40 programmes comprising seminars, conferences, dialogue sessions and exhibitions to educate consumers on prudent consumerism and their rights.

So far 15 programmes have been held in various places.

"We hope to receive strong public support for these programmes which in the long run will be vital for our enforcement operations," said Mohd Ismail.

Athi Veeranggan is malaysiakini 's Penang-based stringer