Minister draws flak for blaming Malaysian inflation on consumer spending habits

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has come under flak after his recent comments on inflation and consumer spending habits, which several economists have taken issue with.

At a media conference last week, Rafizi pointed out that the main driver of inflation is the spending habits of consumers, and he urged Malaysians to reduce their spending on expensive items to bring down their cost of living. He also noted that demand should naturally go down when prices increase, but this was not the case in Malaysia.

“Demand has not gone down despite rising prices, particularly in the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, which is also the main driver of the consumer price index (CPI),” he said, citing the example of how people spend on expensive coffee and urging them to cut back on such products.