KUCHING, Dec 14 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) will reintroduce special zones for the sale of non-subsidised controlled goods in border areas to address leakages.

Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said this initiative aims to reduce the smuggling of subsidised goods into neighbouring countries.

"These special zones will allow people in border areas, such as those near Indonesia and Thailand, to purchase non-subsidised controlled goods. For example, bottled cooking oil and premium sugar will be sold in designated stores.

"This will help prevent smuggling as they will have legal access to purchase these items,” he said after attending an Enforcement Coordination Meeting to Address the Issue of Controlled Goods Leakage here today.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and attended by representatives from state and federal enforcement agencies.

Armizan explained that the special zone project was previously piloted in Pulau Sebatik, Sabah, but faced challenges when locals smuggled in supplies from outside the area and sold them illegally in border-adjacent areas.

"This time, we will tighten enforcement, including using household data and purchase cards to monitor the number of goods purchased by each household,” he said, adding that the reintroduction of the special zones was one of the decisions made during the coordination meeting.

Other decisions included enhancing task coordination through the Ops Tiris Secretariat until the full implementation of the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency in February next year, streamlining enforcement by delegating powers from KPDN to agencies at entry points, conducting regular monitoring at petrol stations, and taking stricter actions against misconduct.

After the meeting, Fadillah and Armizan witnessed the signing of the Aku Janji KITA GEMPUR pledge, in which 11 oil companies operating in the country committed to supporting the government in combating the leakage and manipulation of controlled goods, particularly diesel and petrol. — Bernama