Abroad
He gave a lesson in economics.
January 10, 2026, 07:12 PM
A Malaysian Facebook user recently complained of ever-increasing prices in the country and tagged a politician in the comments, asking him to do something about it.
The politician responded by suggesting the user exercise his freedom of choice as a participant in Malaysia’s free market and go somewhere cheaper instead.
‘Come take a look’
In a Facebook post, Facebook user Brown Lo shared photos of a notice plastered in front of a pork noodle store that informed patrons of price increases.
The notice pointed out that menu prices will go up in 2026 by RM0.50 (S$0.16) due to increases in ingredient costs.
Lo then tagged Malaysian politician Chua Wei Kiat in a comment.
Chua is a representative in the Selangor state assembly and a member of the People’s Justice Party.
The People’s Justice Party is party to the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition, which forms the current Malaysian ‘Madani’ government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Lo commented, “The [Madani] government said it will ease the burden of citizens. Even though the ringgit has strengthened, prices are still going up everywhere in the new year. Can you get the trade and industry ministry to come take a look?”
Lo went on to lament that a bowl of noodles that is scarce on toppings now costs RM10 (S$3.10).
Basic economics
Chua then responded to the lamentation with a Facebook post of his own.
In it, he remarked that the economy of Malaysia is a free market.
That meant that prices are not only affected by costs, they are also affected by market demand.
He shared an example of how consumers swarmed to buy coffee that cost RM15 (S$4.75).
“The market reaction showed that RM15 was an acceptable market price, and so other businesses priced their products similarly to maximise their own profits,” Chua reasoned.
He turned to the recent boycotting of several big brands in support of the Palestinian cause and said that businesses lowered their prices in reaction to the lowered demand.
With that, he returned to the case at hand: “If you find it expensive, you can choose not to spend there and go somewhere cheaper.”
“Once the market senses that the price is too high and business is too low, they will reflect,” he continued.
He commented that what the government oversees is the cost of raw ingredients, and their job is to ensure prices for such ingredients do not fluctuate too much.
The politician then said that Malaysia is not a “communist state”, and does not practice direct control over prices.
If prices continue to rise despite stable raw ingredient costs, then the issue lies with the signals that consumers are sending to businesses, Chua opined.
“That’s all for the economics class, I’ll start charging too in future,” Chua concluded.
Top image via Facebook
