A state-level campaign against price hikes for various taxes, goods and services was launched in Perak today.

Perak DAP Chairperson Ngeh Koo Ham said the campaign with the slogan 'No to 'Barang Naik' was to help the public to see that the various increase in rates and tariffs by the government were 'indiscriminate and unjustified'.

"DAP Perak calls on the people to say 'No to Barang Naik ( BN )' , no to the Barisan Nasional government now and in the next general election.

"Only through the united voice of the people can the BN government be pressured to reduce and not increase its taxes and the prices for goods and services," he said in his speech during the inauguration of the campaign.

He claimed that assessment rates, quit rent and land registration fees in Perak has increased by leaps and bounds over the years.

"The BN state government raised the assessment rate last year by as much as 112%. Registration fees at land offices increased multiple folds last June. Quit rent increases this year reached as high as 900%," he said, adding that these increases had nothing to do with the latest petrol price hike.

"The BN government always uses a petrol price hike to justify an increase in taxes and the prices of goods and services," he said.

Corruption, incompetence

Ngeh said since the government could not justify the hikes, it instead warned the public against profiteering and threatened the business community against increasing their prices for goods and services.

"But the BN government is the real culprit who increases indiscriminately government taxes, prices of goods and services without valid reasons. Where is the leadership by example? Where is the 'people first' promise of the BN which BN always makes during general elections?" he said.

Ngeh, who also Perak state assembly opposition leader, said the recent announcement by the Perak state government that water tariffs will be up by 15 percent on April 1 was not justifiable.

"There is no basis for such an increase as the Perak Water Board has been making millions of ringgit every year. It made RM54.03 million in 2005," he said.

He also said the recent petrol price hike and the imminent electricity tariff hike would further burden the public. "The increase in prices for all these is unjustifiable and will be a burden too heavy to bear especially for the poor amongst us," he said.

He claimed taxes collected and revenue generated by the government was sufficient if the government took measures to cut down on wastage, corruption, inefficiency, leakages and abuses in government administration.

"The ball is in BN government's court to perform, not squeeze the people of their hard-earned ringgit to feed its inefficient, corrupt and wasteful administration," he said.