Malaysia
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is computed monthly and covers all private households
in urban and rural areas.
Official base
1994 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak during the period
from April 1993 to March 1994, covering about 16,000 private households.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 468 | 36.9 | 32539
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 42 | 4.7 | 2026
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 96 | 4.8 | 2053
|
| Gross rent, fuel and light
| 46 | 18.7 | 1017
|
| Furniture, furnishings, household equipment and operation
| 170 | 5.8 | 5676
|
| Medical care and health
| 64 | 1.2 | 2010
|
| Transport and communication
| 119 | 16.0 | 499
|
| Recreation, entertainment, education and cultural services
| 105 | 6.4 | 863
|
| Miscellaneous goods and services
| 139 | 5.5 | 5414
|
| Total
| 1249 | 100.0 | 52097
|
The classification sceme conforms with the SNA Classification.
Household consumption expenditure
The expenditure data were collected using the acquisition
approach, which requires that all household expenditure outlays on
goods and services be recorded at the point in time the
purchases were made. Goods on hire-purchase were considered to
have been bought at the time when the hire-purchase contracts
were signed, or, if there were no contracts, when the goods were
delivered. In addition, the concept of household expenditure
includes items purchased as well as those produced on own account
and used in final consumption. Imputed rents of owner-occupied
dwellings, consumption from own production or stocks, goods
and services furnished to employees free of charge or at reduced
rates, and goods received as wages in kind and gifts were
included in the estimation of household expenditure. Purchases
of goods and services by households from government bodies,
including fees which are charged in respect of public hospitals,
were also considered as consumption expenditure if there
was a clear link between the payment and the acquisition of the
services or goods and if the decisions to make such payment
were voluntary. Income tax, social security contributions,
compensation paid, compulsory fees and fines and remittances to
other households, amounts invested or loaned, repayment of loans,
additions to savings, gambling losses, cash grants and
donations and free recreational and cultural services provided
to the population at large by the government were not
considered as part of household consumption expenditure.
Sampling
All items with a weightof 0.02% or more are selected for price collection.
For items with weights but for which price collection is not possible,
the weighted price relative of other items within the group or
sub-group is used in the price relative for that item. The weights of
items not selected are redistributed to selected items within the group.
Localities were selected on the basis of the population concentration and
knowledge of their common shopping grounds.
Outlets were selected on the basis of the basket of goods and services
to be priced.
Prices are collected from about 10,000 outlets covering the whole country.
Method of data collection
Prices for all categories of goods and services are collected once a
month in the first Monday mornings in the week on which the 15th falls
by agents, from about 10,0800 markets, retail outlets and service
establishments in 73 price collection centres (localities) throughout
Malaysia.
Discounted prices are taken as the normal selling prices.
Sale prices are taken if the items are sold in sufficient quantities.
The criteria for price collection is the normal sellingprice.
Black-market prices do not arise. Only cash prices are taken;
trade-in prices, hire-purchase or credit terms prices are not
considered. Second-hand cars are priced. Prices for imported
items are taken inclusive of import duties and sales tax.
Housing
The rent survey is carried out each quarter in January, April, July and
October. A panel of rented dwellings is interviewed by field
enumerators. The total rent according to type of dwelling is first
computed and this is linked to the previous rent relative by
type-of-dwelling index. The linked type-of-dwelling index is then
weighted using the type-of-dwelling weight to obtain the rent index.
Owner-occupied housing is not included in the index.
Specification of varieties
Specifications were developed by obtaining product specifications
from manufacturers and producers. Both detailed and broad
specifications are used. The descriptions for items with detailed
specifications include the brand, grade, unit, make, quality, etc.
General descriptions are given for broadly-specified items, and
store-specific brands are selected.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
The effect of the quality changes are eliminated from the index by
using quantifiable item characteristics. New products are introduced
into the index at base year revision. If a given type or quality
disappears from the market, a close substitute is priced and linked.
Seasonal items
For items with strong seasonal fluctuations, current prices are
used in the index calculations only in the months when they are
in season. When they are out of season, index calculations are
based on the average prices for the last season.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the base period.
The price relative for each item for each price collection
centre within the region is computed by dividing the average
price for each centre by its base price. These price relatives
are weighted by the centre weights to give the item price
relatives: which are in turn weighted by the item weights to
give the sub-group and overall indices. Unsubstantiated low or
high prices are deleted and the previous prices inserted. Missing
prices are also inserted. The unsubstantiated prices are
queried and the necessary action taken to accept or reject them.
The index is computed directly at the regional level.
However, the index at the three-digit level for Malaysia is
computed as a composite index taking into consideration the
expenditure proportions of the three regions.
Other information
Indices for the nine major groups and the sub-groups of the Food index
are published. Indices for the reclassification of goods in
terms of Durables, Semi-durables, Non-durables and Services are also
available.
Organisation and publication
Department of Statistics Consumer Price Index for Malaysia
(Kuala Lumpur). A brief description of the methodology is
given in this publication.