KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — The Payung Rahmah initiative carried out by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has proven to be successful in stabilising inflation at a low level.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said the easing inflation trend for food away from home was also contributed by the introduction of the Menu Rahmah on January 31.
“The easing inflation in May 2023 was mainly contributed by the fall in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index which dropped to 5.9 per cent from 6.3 per cent in April 2023.
“The food at home moderating further to 4.3 per cent compared to five per cent in April 2023 while food away from home inflation declined to 8.1 per cent in May this year compared to 9.6 per cent in November 2022,” he said in a statement today.
To date, there are 2,922 Menu Rahmah operators throughout the country and 290 Menu Siswa Rahmah (formerly known as kafe Rahmah) operators in public universities and polytechnics.
Meanwhile, Salahuddin said the Rahmah Sales programme, which offers up to 30 per cent discounts on food and basic items, is being actively implemented in 222 parliamentary constituencies nationwide, with 3,557 locations selected as of June 30.
The emphasis is on the implementation of mobile Rahmah Sales with the hashtag #KedaiCariRakyat to ensure that the benefits of the programme could be enjoyed by more low-income people.
“KPDN’s Rahmah Sale programme is also supported by the AgroMadani Sales by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security which brings agricultural products directly from the farm at cheaper prices. To date, a total of 620 AgroMadani Sale programmes have been implemented including at 52 government premises throughout the country,” he said.
In order to curb the uncontrolled increase in the price of goods, Salahuddin said the Unity Government continued the policy of controlling prices either with or without subsidies for items such as bottled and packet cooking oil, coarse and refined white sugar, chicken, grade A, B and C eggs, local white rice, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), RON95 petrol, and diesel.
Continuous monitoring and enforcement is also carried out by KPDN to ensure sufficient supply and to avoid leakages.
“As of June 2023, a total of 440,327 inspections have been carried out and a total of 854 cases have been recorded involving RM11.8 million worth of seizure or confiscation. In addition, KPDN also monitors the prices of 480 items with 186 items being monitored on a daily basis,” he said.
The results of the monitoring showed that the prices of most items or goods were stable for the last four months, including 61 imported goods with 82 per cent of them (50 items) in stable prices.
According to Salahuddin, of that number, 28 items recorded a decrease in prices including turkey, bone-in mutton (Australia), carrots, onions (Pakistan), red onions (India and Myanmar) and Russet potatoes.
“KPDN will continue our commitment to ensuring that all Malaysia MADANI citizens are protected and not burdened with the increased cost of living in today’s challenging and uncertain situation,” he added.
— Bernama
