by BERNAMA / pic by BERNAMA

IPOH – Laptops, especially those priced at RM2,000 and below, were sold out in Ipoh following the implementation of home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) session due to high demand from parents.

A Bernama check at a shopping complex here which is known as the place where locals would go to purchase electronic gadgets such as smart phones, laptops, notebooks, desktops and accessories, found that traders here have been experiencing a shortage of laptops.

According to one of the traders, Chai Wai Kean, 25, his premises also ran out of affordable laptops after 100 units were sold since the implementation of PdPR due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) in January.

“Many parents came here to find laptops for their children for the online school sessions. Currently, there is no more stock available at this store because the only ones left are those priced at RM3,000 and above.

“However, we still have a desktop computer set priced at around RM1,500 but most parents prefer laptops for their children to share,” he said when met by Bernama at the Yik Foong Complex, which is known among locals as the centre for electronic devices.

Chai said that prior to this, he would only restock affordable laptops between 10 to 20 units, twice a month, but now it has been difficult because supplies and shipments from abroad have been affected due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, an employee at another premises in the same complex who only wanted to be known as Chong, 37, said many parents declined to buy a desktop computer set despite the cheaper price and still preferred a laptop as it was equipped with a camera for PdPR purposes.

He said he expected the price of laptops to increase due to high demand and difficulty in obtaining supplies at this time while new stock was expected to arrive only after the Chinese New Year.

A buyer from Tambun, Abu Muizzuddin, said he came to the complex to find a laptop for the use of his children following the implementation of PdPR but could not buy one as it was out of stock.

He said his four schoolgoing children, both in primary and secondary schools, including a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination candidate, had to share an old laptop he bought a few years ago.

“Apart from children, my wife, who is a teacher, also had to share the same laptop for PdPR purposes. I have been looking everywhere in this complex… there is only one unit left but it is too expensive,” he complained.