PUTRAJAYA, Sept 1 — The ceiling price of a five kg bottle of cooking oil will be reduced to RM33.50 from RM34.70, from September 8 to October 7, said chairman of the Special Task Force on Jihad against Inflation Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Cooking oil sold in three kg bottles will be reduced to RM21.10 from RM21.70, two kg bottles from RM14.70 to RM14.30 and one kg bottles from RM7.70 to RM7.50, he said.
“The reduction is based on the price of crude palm oil (CPO) in August which was RM4,169 per metric tonne,” he told a press conference after chairing the special task force meeting here today.
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Deputy Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh.
Annuar said a study by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) showed that 15 aspects had a high probability of contributing to inflation, including rent payment, RON95 petrol, electricity bills, prepaid costs, cigarettes, noodle-based food, Astro subscription, price of fried chicken and fresh chicken as well as vehicle insurance.
“The secretariat and DOSM will look at these aspects and outline the actions that can be taken including advocacy and other actions.
“In other words, the committee needs to start expanding its role, not just focusing on the prices of certain food items because the (DOS) report shows that apart from the cost of food items, costs related to transportation and housing are among the costs that contribute to inflation,” he said.
Annuar said that although the national inflation rate increased by 4.4 per cent to 127.9 in July 2022 compared to 122.5 in July 2021, the rate was still under control and Malaysia still maintained its position as a country with a low inflation rate.
— Bernama
