It is interesting to note the suggestions made by the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs that amendments would be made to the Direct Selling Act 1993 by inserting new provisions in order to curb unscrupulous practices in the direct selling business.

It is sad that whenever there is a problem with anything, the common solution offered by minister would be 'amendments to the governing Act'. What they fail to understand is that it is not the law which has to be revised, but the effectiveness of their own enforcement divisions which has to assessed.

The current Direct Sales Act provides enough provisions to protect consumers but how many traders had been prosecuted by the ministry until today? They must understand that merely revoking the licences of these companies does not offer a solution to the problem.

These unethical traders go on with their business by registering new companies and acquiring new licences. It is sad that until today, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs is still not able to solve the 'scratch and win' scam problem.

If they can't solve the problem with the current Direct Sales Act, no matter how many amendments they make, the problem of unscrupulous practices will always remain unsolved.

The writer is director, National Consumer Complaints Center (NCCC).