DAP Member of Parliament for Bandar Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, today issued the following statement:
Lim Kit Siang to ask government to change E.P.F. investment policies to directly benefit the workers when Parliament meets from July 17 – 26
When Parliament meets from July 17 – 26, I will ask the Finance Minister, Tun Razak whether the government would consider changing the investment policies with regard to the E.P.F. contributions to directly benefits the workers, for instance, in financing and building low-cost houses for workers, and the delay in raising the interest rates off E.P.F. contributions.
Among other questions which I will ask are:
* To ask the Prime Minister whether he would establish a new Ministry for Consumer Affairs to protect consumer interests and rights and to formulate and implement consumer laws to fight profiteering, price-fixing and downright swindling of consumers.
* To ask the Minister for Power whether he is aware that the imposition of the surcharge by the NEB on consumers who use in excess of 150 units has imposed great hardships on the people from low-incomes, and whether he would instruct the NEB to withdraw the surcharge.
* to ask the Minister of Land Development whether the government would consider introducing legislation to freeze the alienation of land to foreign syndicates or companies until the crying needs of the Malaysian landless for land have been met.
* To ask the Minister of Labour and Manpower the number of (i) strikes (ii) the number of manhours lost from strikes for each of the last 10 years and also figures for the first seven months of 1974.
* To ask the Minister of Primary Industries to state whether he is aware that the second round of price increases in petroleum and oil prices within a period of six months, the 40% increase in the price of cooking gas, have added greatly to the hardships of the poor, and why Government approved such increases without first holding a public inquiry for the oil companies to prove that such increase are justified especially in view of the fact that all the major oil companies are reporting unprecedented profits from their international operations and subsidiaries.
* To ask the Minister of Power to state the reasons for the slowness of the NEB to bring electrification to the kampongs, new villages and estates, and what steps are being taken to speed up rural electrification projects throughout the country.