He said this was regardless of what had been done to help the people.
“Anywhere you go in the world, if you have any problem, the government becomes the punching bag, that’s normal,” he said at a press conference held in his service centre in Titiwangsa today.
Johari was asked to comment on the rising cost of living which people have said far exceeded the minimal increase, if any, in their salary.
“People will complain about the cost of living. They tell me, when they were in primary school (prices were cheaper). Tell me, do you expect the cost of living to be the same now? Of course not.”
He said people should not generalise the cost of living as different people have different types of expenditure.
“If someone earns RM10,000 monthly, then they have to live within their means and the same for someone earning RM3,000 monthly,” Johari said.
The Titiwangsa MP said he understood the people’s concern over the cost of living and recognised that it was the government’s role to make sure that inflation was kept under control.
“But there are certain things that we can protect, and certain things that are out of our control.
“The government is able to control the price of rice, sugar, flour and cooking oil, but other products are subject to the open market policy where the theory of supply and demand comes into play,” he said.
He added that cooking oil was subsided by the government and was available at RM2.50 but those who wanted to buy branded cooking oil might have to pay more.
“Also, if you want to drink a cocoa drink, non-branded, you can get it cheap. But if you want other brands, I can’t control the price.
“How can we tell a private company not to sell at the price they have put on their own product. So, why blame the government for that?”
Commenting on the issue of minimal salary hikes, or stagnant salaries, Johari said it simply depended on where one worked.
“It depends on which company a person works for. If you compare a government servant’s salary today to 10 years ago, there has been a significant hike.
“If a private sector staff complains of no salary hike, he has to check with the company.”
According to Johari, there have been no complaints about salary hikes from bank employees, nor those working in public-listed companies (PLCs) and government-linked companies (GLCs).
“But people generalise this and it becomes an issue.”
As for his constituency, Johari said he would continue to serve the rakyat.
“Whatever punches they give me, I will still serve them because I want to do good for the rakyat,” said Johari, who is eyeing to contest in Titiwangsa for a second term.