Wanita Gerakan has urged the government to set up a task force to study and draw up measures to address the problem of high cost of living which is of grave concern to the middle income group.

Wanita Gerakan deputy chief Ng Siew Lai proposed that the task force should comprise government officials, business community, economists, academicians, consumers’ activists and other stakeholders to work out a special policy that would specifically address the financial woes of the middle income group.

Ng said this special policy on middle income group’s woes should necessarily touch on fairer tax system, better and friendlier working environment for working women etc.

“It is high time for government to look into the plight of middle income group. Unlike the lower-income group who does not have to pay taxes, the middle income group is burdened with tax as well as the ever rising cost of living,” she said.

“The people，especially those from the middle income group, have voiced their distress about the high cost of living these days and the government should put the people’s interest first by doing something about this,” she said in a statement.

Ng was commenting on a report in The Star newspaper yesterday that city dwellers were feeling the strain of high prices of essential items including chicken, vegetables and oil.