PETALING JAYA, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The public should be imbibed with awareness programmes to wean them from the 'subsidy mentality'.

This would make them more resilient in times of economic hardship, reasoned Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) president Datuk N. Marimuthu today.

He said, although this aspect was not emphasised in the recent budget, the association, nevertheless, hoped that provisions could be made to conduct such programmes nationwide.

He said subsidies should only focus on the poor and marginalised and ensure an effective social safety net, adding that assistance to the hardcore poor should include hospitalisation, unemployment benefits, monthly pensions, transport allowance and special housing loans.

Commenting on Budget 2010, Marimuthu said it did not emphasise on long-term food security measures although the country was prone to food crisis, as was the case with rice last year.

On credit cards, Marimuthu said the minimum wage of RM1,500 to qualify for the cards should be strictly enforced.

He reasoned that charging consumers a RM50 tax per card annually was unfair as banks were not restricted in their aggressive marketing campaigns, especially among youths.

Touching on public transportation, he said integration of public transport should be given priority at national-level, and not just focus on Kuala Lumpur. (Bernama)