Ramadan Bazaar Vendors Apologise as They Have to Hike Prices, Leaving M’sians Enraged

Ramadan started yesterday (March 12) and you know what that means! Yes, that means our Muslim brothers and sisters have started fasting. But that also means, there are going to be Ramadan bazaars everywhere, selling delicious food and drinks!

Though, long gone are the days where Ramadan bazaar meals could be bought with less than RM15.

In a report by Berita Harian, TTDI Ramadan bazaar vendors apologised to the general public as they have to hike their prices again this year due to the skyrocketing prices of food ingredients. One Murtabak vendor even explained that the prices of onions have increased due to the lack of Indian onions on the market.

Unhappy with this, the Kelab Peminat Amran Incikboss Facebook page shared their anger over vendors hiking their prices, adding that they don’t believe ingredient prices are increasing.

They wrote, “Flour prices are not going up. Cooking oil prices are not going up. Egg prices are not going up. Chicken prices are not going up. Beef prices are not going up. Only the price of Indian onions have gone up because India is showing off. No need to put onions in the Murtabak then, not everyone likes onions anyways.”

This led many to share how they’ve started to boycott Ramadan bazaars over the exuberant prices of the food items. 

“It goes like this: (The price of) one pack of (30) eggs is raised by 5 mussels. They’ll then raise the price of one Murtabak by 4 mussels. One Murtabak only uses 1 egg. 30 times 4? Can get rich already,”

“That’s the thing with vendors, they’ll twist the prices and they’ll push the blame on the government though they’ll run the business for a month and their wives can buy an arm’s length of gold.”

“I’ve boycotted these bazaars, brother. Because every year, they raise the prices, though nothing has happened they’ll still raise the prices. And another thing I hate is that they dilute the Murtabak dipping sauce. It’s thicker to dip it in coffee.”

Though, another reason why these vendors’ are probably raising their prices is because the rental of the bazaar space could be expensive as well.

What do you think? Should bazaar vendors lower their prices to meet the expectations of the general public or should they have the right to hike their prices according to how they see fit?

Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. 

Also read: M’sian Shares How They Sat in Their Car For an Hour Thinking if They Can Afford to Buy a Waffle