Its like that. Local people never look up to local people. People thrash each other just so they could look better and sleep better. Has always been such a mentality. But it is our local culture. Consumerism is at its infancy and consumer protection and respect is non-existent. If you want to purchase an item, there's no fix price for it. It depends on how your bargain, which shop you go, and whether you have established a good relationship. You could end up buying something more expensive or something considerably value in price but with no customer support at all. This is quite different from the foreign atmosphere wherever you go, you get the same stuff at the same price with the same customer support. And if you could find something cheaper, they'll be happy to match that price. I think that is a good idea. But it will only happen when consumerism is more advanced and a lot of legislation and protection is in place.

The reason things are expensive is because our earning rate, spending lifestyle and spending power is well not the same. In these situations, we choose to save our money and keep less in the spending. Thats why we feel things are expensive.