The Malaysian Insight

THE Statistics Department (DOSM) wants those who are chosen to participate in its 2019 Household Income and Expenditure, and Basic Amenities survey to give their cooperation.

Chosen households will be required to share details of their combined monthly income, and their daily expenditure on necessities and basic amenities.

Some would even be required to record their daily expenses for a month, filling the details in an expenditure diary left to them by DOSM officers.

In the diary, respondents are required to record what they have bought, how much they have spent on each purchased item, and how they paid for them – whether by cash; cheque; debit, prepaid or credit card; mobile payment or others payment methods.

The expenses may vary from purchases for the kitchen at home, like rice, vegetables and fish from the market; to payment for children’s tuition classes, household utility bills and car loans.

Respondents also have to detail where they purchased the items – such as wet and wholesale markets, farmers’ and night markets, grocery stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, restaurants, food courts, petrol stations, hawker stalls, pharmacies and the like.

Their online purchases and the things they received for free are also to be recorded.

Please cooperate

The ongoing survey, which ends on December 31 involves 92,200 households nationwide, and 5,072 of them are in Penang, the department’s state director Mohd Suhaimi Mohd Yunus said today in a press conference in George Town today.

The department, he said, faced challenges when gathering data from the people, as some were reluctant to disclose their income details and were not truthful in the information they gave the officers.

“If the respondents ‘tipu’ (lie) when replying to our officers, then ‘tipu lah’,” Suhaimi said.

There is no way for the department to know that the respondent is lying, and check for accurate data.

The department, Suhaimi said, has to work with whatever data the people supplied its officers for its report to the federal government.

This means if respondents are uncooperative and dishonest, the survey results will be inaccurate and the final report by DOSM to the government will not accurately reflect reality.

Suhaimi said the data on household incomes and expenditures was important to help identify poor households and their level of access to basic amenities in every state.

“The data will also be used to measure the national inflation rate and help the federal government formulate and track the national development plan, particularly the Malaysia Plan.

“Under the law, all information given to the department is confidential and cannot be shared to anyone outside DOSM or any other organisation. Otherwise, the people can sue us,” Suhaimi said.

Not Inland Revenue Board

The department’s Penang deputy director Tai Boon Hooi said they are not the Internal Revenue Board out to investigate the people on their earnings.

He said there were some people who did not believe their officers, even when they had turned up wearing the department’s vests and carrying passes showing they were conducting the survey for DOSM.

“Some of the respondents who do allow us to interview them may not even be providing accurate data. We are not the income tax department.”

However, Tai said they have a 95% confidence level for the data respondents provided DOSM.

“We hope that by announcing the survey exercise through the media, more people will know what we are doing and cooperate,” he said, adding that even foreign workers could be among households randomly selected for the survey.

Tai said because the survey had to be very detailed, DOSM officers have to interview respondents face to face to collect the data.

He said an interview with the department’s officers would normally take less than an hour.

“The officers will ask the questions and fill up the forms for them. But certain households will be involved in the household income and expenditure survey, and need to record their spending for a month.

“The detailed information is necessary because it contributes to the consumer price index (CPI). We need the data so the CPI can reflect what the people are consuming.

Those with questions about the ongoing survey can contact DOSM on 03-88857000, emailjpbkkp@dosm.gov.my or visit its website at www.dosm.gov.my or social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. – February 21, 2019.