By Nur Fariha Rehmy Khairil
KUALA LUMPUR: With just days away to Hari Raya, Muslims around the country are preparing for the annual tradition of purchasing new baju raya to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
As in recent years, Malaysians are feeling the pinch from the rising cost of living. Prices for almost all food items and general goods are on the uptrend, making purchasing tougher for the average household especially the B40 group.
The inclination to celebrate this year would be stronger after two years of having to scale down Hari Raya celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the issue remains; prices of baju raya are not getting any cheaper, with Malaysians taking to the social media to share their outrage over the outrageously expensive items in the market.
On top of that, some clothes are of cheap fabric and poor processed seams – a poor occurrence in the cheap stuff, which are easily damaged. All these are flooding the market, either at Raya bazaars or at various e-commerce platforms.
In fact, popular brands are also bearing the brunt of similar criticisms for selling baju raya that are not worth their money.
A random check by Bernama shows even Raya bazaars at shopping hotspots such as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR) and Masjid India are selling Raya clothes above RM100.
“This year, you can see that prices have gone up as compared to three years ago. I always buy my baju raya at Jalan TAR every year. However, this year, I decided to buy online,” Nur Nawwarah Abdullah, 18, told Bernama.
Similar sentiments are shared by Nurul Atilah Shahrizal, 23, who is also shocked by the price tags on baju raya collections this year.
Given the situation, the private university student said that this year’s Raya preparations for her would be minimal.
“Baju raya at Jalan TAR should be affordable and reasonable, but from my observation, most of the clothes are sold above RM100,” said Kuala Lumpur-born Nurul Atilah.
Sources of increase
Dean, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Prof Dr Mohamad Fazli Sabri questioned the annual hike in baju raya prices in the country, which are significantly higher compared to three years ago.
He said rising prices are pushing up the cost of living, forcing traders to hike their baju raya this year, assuming that the prices had gone up between 10 to 20 per cent post Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.
“If you compare with the hike in food prices, the rise is logical given the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has caused food imports to increase and as a result, traders were forced to sell at higher prices.
“As for the baju raya, I believe the price hike may have been attributed to the higher costs of imported textiles as well as other costs such as transportation, with an upward trend, both in Malaysia and globally,” he told Bernama.
He opined that it is not necessary for the government to control the prices of baju raya as they are not essential items such as food, and in fact consumers can still celebrate Hari Raya despite not having to buy their baju raya.
Commenting on public complaints over the sudden price hike in this year’s baju raya in the market, Jakel Group managing director Datuk Seri Mohamed Faroz Mohamed said the situation should not occur given the current low prices of textile materials imported into Malaysia.
He cited textile factories such as in China and Bangladesh have not increased their prices to reflect the current low prices of petroleum.
Mohamed Faroz said a rise or fall in petroleum prices will have an impact on textile prices given that most fabric used today are made of petroleum-based polymer.
“It is against this background that Jakel can afford to offer cheap and reasonable prices to Malaysians this year, he said, adding that the company has also offered baju raya Rahmah for the B40 group.
The boutique is also able to sell its baju Rahmah collection for as low as RM148 for men’s baju Melayu compared to above RM258 previously as they are purchased on bulk.
Besides Jakel, several other boutiques such as Sabella also participated in an initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living (KPDN) to ease the burden of the people especially the needy.
Baju Raya scams
Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy secretary-general Nur Asyikin Aminuddin said, consumers should not be influenced by the trends in baju raya, forcing them to overspend over a pair of baju Melayu.
“Cheap does not necessarily mean low quality and expensive does not necessarily mean high quality. Hence, consumers should be prudent in their spending.
“Consumers should also be cautious of online offers as there are scammers who take advantage of the situation by selling branded baju raya at lower prices but will then disappear or give various excuses after receiving money from the victims,” he added.
Cheap baju raya scam activities are reported to be rampant every year, with many people falling prey to the so-called low price offers. In fact, RM121,488 in losses were recorded for the nine month period from 2014 to 2022 over baju raya scams.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said there’s no doubt that scammers are taking advantage of the festive season by cheating buyers especially while making online purchases.
The Communications and Digital Ministry has also shared a tactic among scammers to deceive consumers into buying baju raya and that is via false accounts on social media before offering promotional and cheap prices.
Attracted by the offer, the victim will then conduct transactions to an individual account and when the victim has not received the parcel, he or she will later contact the party concerned before being informed of some delivery hitches. The scammer will then ask the victim to make additional payment and promise that money will be refunded on receipt of the parcel.
But the onus is on the individual as various options are available. If you can’t afford to buy new baju raya, just buy second-hand items which are far cheaper, or you can always wear past baju raya.
As 1st Syawal approaches, consumers must weigh their needs and wants.
The early disbursement of salary should not be used to overspend and continue their shopping frenzy to avoid being financially burdened, leading to debt problems as there are various other expenses to be set aside either during or after the celebration. – BERNAMA
