Petaling Jaya is a city. So is Ipoh.
Petaling Jaya has international retail brands like Guess, Espirit, Giordano, U2, Timberland and the likes. So has Ipoh. (all right, I know PJ has more big names)
Petaling Jaya has local retailers like Popular Books, MPH, Cold Storage, Giant, Tesco, Jusco and the likes. So has Ipoh.
Petaling Jaya has popular food outlets like McDonald’s, KFC, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Old Town Coffee and the likes. So has Ipoh.
Petaling Jaya has local & foreign banks like MBB, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Public Bank and the likes. So has Ipoh.
Petaling Jaya has the services of giant telcos like Celcom, Maxis and Digi. So has Ipoh.
Petaling Jaya has Astro. So has Ipoh.
My point is, all things being somewhat equal, I cannot comprehend the difference in prices of food and services between Petaling Jaya and Ipoh: -
A plate of fried kuay teow (with egg, cockles & prawns) – PJ @RM4.50 / Ipoh @ RM3.60.
A takeaway order of economy beehoon – PJ @ RM2.50-RM3.00 / Ipoh @ RM1.00
A plate of chicken rice – PJ @ RM4.00 / Ipoh @ RM3.00.
1 piece of roti canai – PJ @ RM1.20 / Ipoh @ RM 70 sen.
Economy rice of 2 vegetables & 1 meat – PJ @ RM5.00 / Ipoh @ RM3.50.
Tailoring charges to alter the waist size of a pair of pants – PJ @ RM20.00 / Ipoh @ RM5.00.
A haircut for female (no shampoo) comparing same service std – PJ @ RM60 / Ipoh @ RM15.
And of course the salaries differ too.
Somehow I cannot understand why prices are higher in PJ. The price of staples like rice, sugar, flour, oil, meats, petrol, diesel, electricity, water etc are the same in both cities, right? Yet, PJ businesses charge more.
I really cannot figure this out. Is the difference justifiable? Or did the ’survivor’ instinct manifested in the PJ businesses?
Jom pergi Ipoh!
8 comments
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June 16, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Jong
Peng,
You have missed out on house rentals – In Ipoh it’s plus RM300-400 for a single storey link house and RM500-600 for double storey link house where as PJ, it’ll cost double.
The niciest part of it is everything is within easy reach. Getting places will most probably take say 10 to 20 mins drive away, no traffic jam, real bliss!
The downside is there are no multinational industries(here failure of the BN govt that ruled the state for 52 years!) investment here and young Ipohites find it difficult to find employment so they need to migrate to Penang and KL leaving their parents behind while they cari-makan. Ipoh is now called ….”Pensioners City”!
June 16, 2009 at 11:24 pm
peng
Jong, it’s more than double for a double-storey link house in PJ. I once rented a studio unit in a condo, paid RM1,300 a month!
Ipoh has its own ‘big’ industries, like Unisem, Tasek Cement…
And I don’t mind enjoying my ‘pension’ in Ipoh!
June 17, 2009 at 11:15 am
DanielYKl
Ha! Come to Penang! I guess Penang is somwhere in between PJ and Ipoh. Food prices ranges from where you eat. If in the city, it’s obviously more expensive. The other day I met my KL friend in a coffee shop at Penang Road and they charged me RM2 for Iced Nescafe! Else where it ranges from RM1.50 to RM1.70. If you go to the tourist spots to makan then you will get your head chopped. The Char Koay Teow in Lorong Selamat (not that good lah, only people from mainland go there) can cost from RM5.50 to RM7.50!
House rent is Penang is crazy! And buying property here is a nightmare. Yet more and more luxury condos and houses are being built and sold.
June 17, 2009 at 11:41 am
peng
Daniel,
I have worked and stayed in Penang for about 10 years. I know how some food hawkers charge people like me, who don’t speak Hokkien and speak to them in Mandarin! They just serve the food with all of everything.. that’s when the price end up to be RM9.00!
Penang properties may be expensive due to the scarcity of land, it being an island. So the developers are building upwards and outwards (on reclaimed land) instead, which give them the excuse to tag exorbitant prices to the properties.
I still like good olde Ipoh! I think its still the best, in terms of quality of life!
June 19, 2009 at 3:20 am
Jarod
Ipoh is still the best lah…
Ok, let us see why Ipoh food is cheaper compare to KL..
Chicken – Ipoh Mali
The person who cook in PJ- Originate from Ipoh as well, but due to high cost of living in PJ, he/she cannot tahan.. so have to raise the price.
Hair cut – Learn from Ipoh – Come to KL d they got Winnie Loo as example. She always charge people high price. They follow lah!
Roti Canai punya flour – Specially order from Ipoh. Transportation fees rock up the price.
Bean sprout also the same.
Oh ya, Kuey teow, ipoh memang cheap and nice. But when you wanna allow the kuey teow to travel on the road and reach safely in KL, u need to protect the freshness. SO, they have “protection money” for kuey teow and that is why it is so expensive in KL.
June 19, 2009 at 10:43 am
peng
Hi Jarod, your yada-yada is very funny la!
But I think there is some truth in your humorous reasoning here…
And the price of properties i.e. houses that Jong mentioned about could be due to ‘pasir’ being imported from Lumut, and cement from Tasik Cement! Ha! Ha!
peng
June 19, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Jarod
haha…. may be we can get clarification from Jong since she knows well …haha
June 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Richard Loh
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