GEORGE TOWN, March 7 — There has been no excessive pricing of food and drinks at Ramadan bazaars and other premises nationwide since the start of fasting month, according to the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN).
Deputy minister Fuziah Salleh said checks were conducted at Ramadan bazaars, markets, supermarkets, mini markets and grocery stores.
“We did not find any excessive hike in pricing in any of these places throughout the country,” she said in a press conference after a walkabout at the Bayan Lepas Ramadan bazaar here.
She said there were media reports of excessively high prices, so the ministry took note of them.
“We view this seriously and I hope consumers who come across excessively high prices lodge official complaints on our Aduan Suri platform,” she said.
She said action would be taken within 24 hours of receiving complaints.
She added that so far, they had received 307 complaints related to the failure to display price tags.
According to her, Aduan Suri has received a total of 1,879 complaints nationwide this year, including 142 in Penang.
Earlier, Fuziah launched the Bazaar Ramadan Rahmah (BRR) initiative in Penang that offers Rahmah menu at RM5 and below.
“All BRR traders are encouraged to offer Rahmah menu at RM5 and below as an addition to their existing offerings,” she said.
Fuziah said a total of 95 Ramadan bazaars nationwide are involved in this initiative, including 10 in Penang.
She said traders would receive incentives for offering Rahmah menu items, including discount cards.
“Traders will get a discount card to buy raw ingredients at our Jualan Rahmah with a higher limit for controlled items, such as buying 10 chickens instead of two,” she said
She said traders would also be eligible for discounts at Jualan Rahmah.
“This is so that they can reduce their costs when offering Rahmah menu items and this will benefit the low-income group,” she said.
Additionally, Fuziah said each trader offering a Rahmah menu in BRR would also receive RM100 in their e-wallet and a RM50 petrol voucher at Caltex.
She hoped that with this incentive, more traders will register to offer Rahmah menu items.
“As of today, a total of 25 traders in Penang have registered under BRR and we hope more will come forward to register,” she said.
