ALOR SETAR, Dec 23 — The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Ministry received 137 complaints from Kedah involving subsidised cooking oil packs throughout this year.

Kedah KPDN director Muhammad Nizam Jamaludin said action was taken under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 for eight cases, while six other cases fell under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011, adding that the complaints included hoarding and raising of prices by traders.

"To traders, do not hoard supplies, especially cooking oil packs and other controlled items as we will hone hesitate to take action if we find out about such practices.

"Our enforcers may be few, but they are everywhere. As usual, undercover tactics are our method, and personnel are stationed strategically to combat manipulative business activities, including online fraud and cartel conspiracies,” he told reporters today after launching the Kedah-level Christmas 2024 Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP) for Christmas 2024.

Muhammad Nizam said that KPDN Kedah received 1,693 complaints this year, 228 of which related to other controlled items and reminded traders to comply with the set prices and use pink labels for price-controlled items for the Christmas festive period.

Meanwhile in GEORGE TOWN, the Penang KPDN received 115 complaints involving subsidised cooking oil from January to Dec 22, its director S Jegan said, adding that this accounted for about 80 per cent of the 186 complaints involving the supply of controlled goods.

"Complaints include being sold above the controlled price or being out of stock in the market. For every complaint received, we dispatched a team to the location for monitoring and investigation. However, we will ensure sufficient supply for the Christmas festive season,” he said at a press conference after a joint inspection with Penang Trade, Entrepreneurship Development and Rural Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Rashidi Zinol in conjunction with the implementation of the Christmas 2024 SHMMP here today.

He shared that from Jan 1 to Dec 22, the Penang KPDN received 2,351 complaints, with 1,025 related to the pricing of goods and services, 186 to the supply of controlled goods, and the remaining 1,140 being other complaints.

In the same period, 48,955 premises were checked across Penang, resulting in 695 cases of various offences, RM2.1 million worth of seizures, and RM308,950 in fines issued.

He added that 137 enforcement officers and 62 price monitoring officers would be deployed at strategic locations across Penang during the Christmas festive season, including public markets, farmers’ markets, and shopping malls to monitor and enforce regulations to protect consumers from unethical traders. — Bernama