KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — A total of 31,100 premises nationwide were inspected under the Ops Jamin between July 7 and yesterday, involving various levels of the rice distribution chain.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Fuziah Salleh said the inspections were conducted to monitor the supply and prices of rice and other daily necessities like sugar and cooking oil at the retail level.
“Today, we want to assess the essential goods situation as we heard there have been improvements. So, I came down to see if the situation had gotten better.
“However, we can see that the supply of local rice is still unavailable,” she said to the press after conducting inspections under Ops Jamin at a supermarket in Cheras Jaya yesterday.
In this regard, the Rahmah Sales programme for imported rice will be continued and intensified to address the shortage.
Ops Jamin is a collaborative effort by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) and the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry to ensure the availability of rice supplies at stable and controlled prices.
Meanwhile, Fuziah said out of the 31,100 premises inspected, some 10 cases had been taken action for violations, namely four each related to the Consumer Protection Act 1999 and the Trade Descriptions Act 2011, and two were related to the Weights and Measures Act 1972.
In addition, 331 rice-related complaints have been received as of yesterday, and have been forwarded to KPDN for further action.
Commenting on the Budget 2024 tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday (October 13), she said it is a budget favouring the people, as the allocation for the Payung Rahmah initiatives doubled to RM200 million.
“I am also happy for the hardcore poor as the Prime Minister allocated RM10 billion for the Rahmah Cash Aid.
“Through the retargeted subsidy approach, we hope those eligible and entitled to subsidies can receive cash aid that can be used to buy essential goods,” Fuziah said.
— Bernama
