The RM1.4 million 1pengguna.com website, which had been marred by technical glitches and a security breach, has been fixed and improved, according to the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister.

NONEFor all Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s assertions, however, a subsequent check of the website has revealed that some of the problems and weaknesses persist.

The website was launched last week to allow consumers to check and compare the prices of products sold at hypermarkets, supermarkets, wet markets and convenience stores nationwide.

But users have complained that the price list is incomplete and that the user interface is nowhere near worth the RM1.4 million invested in it.

Following complaints from readers, Malaysiakini browsed through the website and found several shortcomings:

1. Users can only compare prices offered within specific localities, while a comparison across different districts is not available.

For example, no comparison is available of retail prices within Petaling Jaya. Instead, consumers have to select one of three localities - Damansara, PJ Old Town or Seri Setia - and find comparisons within that locality.

2. Users can only compare prices under the same category - hypermarket, supermarket, wet market or convenience store. So, they cannot compare prices at Jusco with those at Tesco because one is a supermarket and the other is a hypermarket.

3. No search engine is provided. Users have to select the state, district and area from a list, followed by type of retailers, name of retailers, then browse through a long list to select the product before checking the price.

Asked about these problems, Ismail admitted that the website does not allow users to compare retailers of different categories.

"Cannot, you can only compare apple with apple," he told a press conference after he launched the Malaysian Consumer Law Journal in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

On the absense of comparison among retailers in different localities, he argued that users can do this by checking the product price in a particular locality and repeating the process in other localities.

Expensive modification?

Users have also poked holes in the website design, claiming that it is not original but modified from a free template provided by an open source social networking portal.

A user has uploaded a short clip on video-sharing website Youtube to show that the 1pengguna portal is constructed based on a free website theme named ‘Seashells’.   

Tazlanhis is easily verified by checking the page source of the website.

The user also discovered from the ministry’s home page that the contract for construction of the 1pengguna portal was awarded to Sands Consulting Sdn Bhd on Dec 21, 2010, at RM1,478,000 a year.

Many questioned the exorbitant cost after the website crashed due to high traffic. It was hit by a security breach last week, which allegedly led to the leak of personal data of over 2,000 users.

But the ministry has denied that any information is missing from the website.

In a related development, Ismail said his weekly online chat session scheduled for this evening will be postponed due to his official commitments.

"I can't make it today. Maybe (it will be) postponed to Friday. We will inform (everyone) through the website," he said.

Ismail is slotted to hold a weekly ‘live’ chat every Wednesday from 6-7pm with online users, on issues of consumerism, inflation and price control.

During the first session last Wednesday, Ismail was grilled as to why the ministry had spent RM1.4 million on a simple website.