Perlindungan keselamatan pengguna: Menjejaki dorongan dan amalannya di kalangan pengusaha makanan skala kecil di Malaysia (Consumer safety protection: Exploring the motives and practices of Malaysian small food manufacturers)

Abstract

Tanggungjawab melindungi keselamatan pengguna mempunyai kaitan dengan pengeluar yang menghasilkan produk. Sehubungan itu kajian ini telah menghurai tentang dorongan dan amalan pengeluar makanan berskala kecil dalam isu perlindungan keselamatan pengguna. Kaedah temubual telah digunakan bagi melaksanakan kajian ini. Empat orang responden pengeluar makanan berskala kecil telah dipilih menggunakan kaedah persampelan bertujuan. Analisis menunjukkan kawalan perlindungan pengguna lebih didominasi oleh perspektif kaveat emptor. Tiga tema utama yang mendorong pengeluar melaksanakan amalan perlindungan pengguna terdiri daripada tema (1) pematuhan peraturan pihak berkuasa, (2) menjamin mutu produk akhir supaya memenuhi kehendak pengguna dan (3) prinsip etika peniaga. Manakala daripada sudut amalan perlindungan pula terdiri daripada (1) penggunaan bahan mentah terbaik dan selamat, (2) mematuhi semua peraturan berkaitan pengilangan yang baik dan selamat, (3) penggunaan mesin automatik, serta (4) pengesahan dan verifikasi badan berkuasa seperti Jakim dan Kementerian Kesihatan. Kawalan dalaman menerusi undang-undang lembut (soft law) didapati masih terhad di kalangan pengeluar terlibat kerana mereka masih belum mempunyai sebarang persediaan garis panduan atau prosedur operasi khusus bagi mengurus kemungkinan risiko mudarat kepada pengguna akibat daripada penggunaan produk tersebut.

Katakunci: caveat emptor, etika perniagaan, firma kecil, perlindungan pengguna, SOP, tanggungjawab peniaga

The responsibility of protecting consumer well-being has a lot to do with product manufacturers. This study examined the motives and practices of selected small scale food manufacturers within the ambit of consumer protection issue. In-depth interviews were conducted involving four small scale food manufacturers selected by purposive sampling technique. Their responses were analyzed thematically. Overall the findings indicated that manufacturers drive for protecting consumer was dominated by the caveat emptor perspective. Three themes of manufacturer motives for enacting consumer protection were identified, namely, to comply with regulatory requirements issued by authorities, to ensure quality final products, and the manufacturer’s own personal ethical principle. Protection practices adopted by manufacturers were found to consist of superior and safe raw ingredients, compliance with all the prevailing rules and regulations pertaining to best practices in manufacturing practices, automation, and obtaining specified formal approvals and verifications from recognised authorized such as Jakim and the Ministry of Health. Protection via soft laws seemed rather limited as most respondents were unprepared with the relevant SOPs to manage damages inflicted on consumers from the use of their products.

Keywords: business ethics, caveat emptor, consumer protection, seller responsibility, SOP, small firms