By Karen Bong
KUCHING, June 23: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) will step up enforcement on the sale of subsidised cooking oil in 1kg polybags as it could become the “single target” of smuggling activities.
Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi thus suggested that a designated counter lane be set up at business premises to curb this abuse of the subsidised 1kg polybags of cooking oil which are priced at RM2.50 per bag.
“This method is to ensure that no party tries to wholesale subsidised packet oil, exceeding the quota allowed by making payments at different counters at any one time,” he said in a statement posted on his social media channel today.
Nanta raised these serious concerns following the announcement that the subsidy for bottled finished cooking oil will be removed effective July 1.
He stressed that efforts to combat leakages, embezzlement and smuggling are very important to ensure that the 60,000 metric tonnes of subsidised cooking oil allocated reaches the people, and are not manipulated by irresponsible parties in order to make easy profits.
“The more than 2,000 enforcement officers at KPDNHEP along with 72 enforcement command centres (ECC) nationwide have been tasked to coordinate actions when complaints and information are received.
“To enhance the effectiveness of enforcement, the ministry also mobilised 1,000 price monitoring officers (PPH) to monitor the situation to ensure there is no abuse of the cooking oil subsidy, after the reopening of the country’s borders during the transition phase to endemic,” he said.
Based on current statistics, Nanta revealed, the value of seizure of subsidised items has increased to nearly RM4 million for the period of May 2022, compared to RM3,896,429 for the corresponding period last year.
“If examined, the confiscation values for petrol and wheat flour each recorded a jump of more than three-fold. This happened after the country’s border reopened on April 1.
“Such fraudulent activities indirectly contribute to the difficulty of obtaining subsidised goods in the market, especially the 1kg packets of cooking oil,” he said.
If left unchecked, Nanta noted, the leakage of subsidy allocation will not only affect the lives of the people, especially in B40 and M40 groups, but will also cause the intended subsidy distribution to derail from its goal.
Today, Nanta together with his ministry’s enforcement officers conducted a surprise check at NSK Supermarket in Selayang, Selangor to ensure compliance of business operations is met, especially concerning the hoarding of supplies which could make it difficult for consumers to obtain essential goods.
“Through ‘Ops Anti-Sorok’, enforcement efforts will be stepped up nationwide, especially as we approach July 1 when some essential goods are floated according to the market,” he added. — DayakDaily
