Consumer Protection

The Consumer Protection Act 1999 defines "consumer" as a person who

acquires or uses goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic
or household purposes, use or consumption; and does not acquire or use the goods or
services, or hold himself out as acquiring or using the goods or services, primarily for
the purpose of resupplying them in trade; consuming them in the course of a
manufacturing process; or in the case of goods, repairing or treating, in trade, other
goods or fixtures on land.1
Trade becomes an essential activity which contributes significantly to the national
economy in the period of globalization and trade liberalization. Consumer as a party to
the trading activity becomes the major contributor in this activity. Since, trade is
important to consumers thus it is vital that this activity is being monitored so as to
benefit the consumer. Globalization which brings with it the concept of trade
liberalization illustrates the free movement of goods and services in different parts of the
world due to borderless economy. This phenomenon resulted in free entry of goods from
abroad without restriction and this will bring a negative impact on consumers in
Malaysia if the goods are of low quality. Thus, consumers need to be protected in facing
globalization and trade liberalization.
The development of globalization and trade liberalization influenced the trading
system in Malaysia. The act of trade liberalization in Malaysia had made Malaysians
perceive that world is no more borders and markets are no longer confined. This is a
difficult worldwide free trade era and an unclear situation for the Malaysian consumers.
The Malaysian market is now completely open and local organizations need to
contend with the multinational traders from around the globe. Products from everywhere
throughout the world can be acquired in nearby markets as an aftereffect of this new
type of trade. Trade liberalization likewise prompts rivalry between the nearby transport
wrecks and merchants from abroad who are more experienced and refined. This
1 Section 3 of Laws Of Malaysia Act 599 Consumer Protection Act 1999

opposition influenced the consumers as in the local manufacturers need to create more
competitive merchandise keeping in mind the end goal to contend available.
The issue happens when imported products from abroad are sold to buyers at a
lower cost. This circumstance prompts the decrease of production cost by the local
manufacturer to guarantee lower cost of the merchandise created. The lower production
cost will probably prompt production of low quality merchandise. The utilization of low
quality products by the consumers is unsafe if the merchandise later were discovered
damaged. This is one of the issues confronted by the consumers in Malaysia during the
period of trade liberalization.
Hence, Malaysia must not accept trade liberalization with open arms but to
manage it prudently in the interest of consumers.
Consumer protection is becoming an essential agenda in every nation today due
to the fluctuations in the economy. The coming of the globalization which triggers trade
liberalization creates problems to the consumer. Thus, the government is in charge for
safeguarding that trade liberalization is recompensed by the authority of consumers
through effective security.
The meaning of consumer protection may not be exact but rather numerous
endeavors were made to give an all-inclusive intending to the idea. Consumer
protection can mean one of two things which are to keep something from being off-base
for the purchasers or giving change to customers when things turn out to be off-base.
Significance of consumer protection in Malaysia can be seen with the
accentuation set on different parts of consumerism in the Malaysian Plan. The seventh
Malaysian Plan saw the sanctioning of Consumer Protection Act, 1999 which makes the
interest of consumers as its main focus. Government concerns can likewise be found in
the eighth Malaysian Plan whereby the government emphasized on self-protection by
raising issues to light among consumers to protect their own interest. In the ninth
Malaysian Plan, the government understood the significance of consumer protection in
the period of trade liberalization, thus the government suggested that the Consumer
Protection Act 1999 to be reviewed.

The possibility of the act to be expanded to cover areas such as electronic

commerce, health, risk assessment products and services comprising inherently altered
organisms. Initiative taken by the government evidently indicates that the government is
moving towards improving consumer protection in Malaysia.
The United Nations Assembly embraced the United Nations Guidelines for
Consumer Protection in view of the importance of protecting the basic rights of
consumer .The UN guidelines emphasized on the importance of the physical safety of
consumers; the promotion and protection of consumers economic interests; standards
for the safety and quality of consumer goods and services; productivity in the
distribution of essential consumer goods and services; measures relating to specific
areas such as food, water and pharmaceutical products; and international cooperation
for the promotion and enhancement of consumer protection worldwide. 2
However, if consumers are not mindful of the eight consumer rights and
responsibilities, no matter how much legislation and how many well enforced consumer
laws exist, they will be incompetent. The Charter of Consumer Rights issued by the
International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU) in 1982 states that the rights of
consumers are the right to basic needs; the right to choose; the right to safety; the right
to be informed; the right to be heard; the right to redress; the right to consumer
education; and the right to a healthy environment.
The National Consumer Policy or Dasar Pengguna Negara was propelled to
embed self-protection in consumers, self-regulation in traders and manufacturers, and
to attain an effective level of consumer protection level, hence giving an environment
favorable to creating a fair market and maintainable development in staying informed
with local and global economic development. The guidelines of the policy are to raise
the standard of living, laws to safeguard consumers, fair and ethical trade, consumer
education, sustainable consumption, redress mechanisms, consumer forums between
2 Ong Tze Chin, Sakina Shaik Ahmad Yusoff, ' Remedy as of Right for Consumer
Protection' [ 2016]

government, manufacturers and consumers, and international cooperation in consumer

matters.
Malaysia's Consumer Protection Act 1999 was established mainly to offer better
protection for consumers. The provisions in the Act also cover areas that are not
covered by other prevailing laws. The Act provides modest and reasonable redress to
consumers specific reliefs and grievances.
Based on the Consumer Protection Act 1999, consumers rights and liabilities
given cannot be taken away from them. This is regardless of the circumstances in any
agreement they have signed and consumers also have the right to all the goods and
services of daily basic needs such as food, clothing, health, education and home.
Fomca and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry structured a
National Consumer Convention with the theme "Smart Consumer: Value for Money,
Value for People and Value for Environment" in concurrence with National Consumers
Day.
Formerly, flawed goods were the primary issue but now there are more complex
disputes. One such new area is e-commerce where matters pertaining credit card
information, safety and privacy are raised.
Additional new disputes faced by consumers include the food safety aspect of
genetically modified foods, consumer credit, sustainable consumption and the issue of
globalization of the marketplace, intellectual property rights and how they influence
consumer knowledge and others. Consumer credit is a disturbing issue considering the
easy access to credit and the increasing amount of liquidations.
Fomca is likewise worried with deregulation and privatization in light of the fact
that in Malaysia, consumers are troubled with privatization. Consumers end up paying
more and as a matter of fact they do not enjoy more benefits out of it. Necessary
services like water, electricity and medicinal services cannot be privatized, as they are
basic needs of a healthy country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that 5% of a country's Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) be spent on healthcare nonetheless Malaysia is only spending
2-3% of its GDP in this area.
The government's biotechnology desire seems to have forgotten issues which
will impact consumers. Through trade liberalization, costs continue to go up. "With trade
liberalization, consumers expected inexpensive prices and further possibilities. Even
though there are more options, prices are still going up. Hence, laws must be regularly
amended to cover new areas and disputes affecting consumers. The consumer
movement has been calling for a review of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) for some
time to cover essential areas such as health and housing.
Unlike in Britain, India and Australia, the CPA in Malaysia does not cover these
areas. "Consumer disputes cut across government rules in Malaysia. For example,
health issues come under the Health Ministry and housing comes under the Housing
and Local Government Ministry. The CPA is more of a supplementary act in some of
these areas which are exempted from the CPA." Oddly criticisms related to these two
areas are among the most frequently acknowledged by Fomca.
The government should have an action plan on sustainable consumption in order
to address ethics and corruption. The Master plan 2003 - 2015 is a widespread Master
plan which looks at weaknesses and necessities and has suggested numerous
endorsements covering broad areas. Nonetheless, it has yet to be implemented. The
next step is then to interpret policy into action considering both present and upcoming
challenges which consumers have to face.3
In conclusion, though countless consumer protection laws, programmes and
initiatives exist, the determinations to keep pace with new demands on consumer
protection consequential from the rapid pace of globalization and trade liberalization will

3 Karen M.Mcgowan, 'The Effects of Trade Liberalization on Consumers in

Developing Countries: In Terms of Information Flow, Choice Alternatives and
Redress.' [ 1997]

bring many challenges and problems to Malaysia in its enforcement and execution of
consumer protection.
The determination towards constructing smart consumers capable to protect
themselves, and ethical businesses, and executing legislations that protect consumers
must be constant. Continuous efforts of all parties, i.e. the government, traders,
consumers and non-governmental bodies are also crucial to guarantee that Malaysian
consumers are well protected. These initiatives will further promote towards combatting
consumer unawareness, unsystematic consumers, artificial goods, misleading
advertising, business malpractices, abuse of monopoly power, environment pollution
and many other issues affecting consumer well-being.