Thanks, but keep your ill-informed shopping tips to yourself. This is Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin’s message to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.

 

Lashing out at the minister for being ignorant of the poor, Zuraida said in a statement that Nancy's tips on fighting the rising cost of living were most impractical.

Nancy gave the suggestions when she met the press in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

 

"Nancy’s statement is a clear indication that she does not understand the problems of the working class," said Zuraida, the MP for Ampang.

 

Zuraida ( right ) rebutted Nancy's advice, point-by-point.

 

Nancy talked of how she could have tea with her five friends in Kuching at just RM12, or RM2 a cup.

Zuraida said Nancy needed to know that the minimum wage earner in Sarawak gets just RM26 a day. Two cups of tea would cost him RM4 or 15 percent of his salary. 

 

"How is that possibly affordable? How about food, clothing, transportation and communication, rent, utility and medical bills, toiletries, other necessities and dependents?" Zuraida said.

 

Nancy also advised people to shop at Petronas and Mydin stores, citing that they had not increased their prices.

However Zuraida noted that Petronas prices were slightly higher and more expensive than the usual grocery stores.

 

"Although Mydin might be a good option, not everybody has access to Mydin," she said.

 

Zuraida said that although it was not mentioned, another option was the government-subsidised KR1M store.

But even there, the goods supplied by Mydin were found to be below expectations and at uneconomical prices, according to a PKR survey.

 

"I hope that Nancy takes the trouble to connect with the ground. Affordability is not about where to buy chillies for RM1 or RM2," Zuraida said.

"A good government will seek to ease the burden of the people, not add to it."