‘Minister never said all items were cheaper’

Not all 250 items sold at Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia is 50% cheaper, says Ministry.

PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism has defended its stand on the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) as a cheaper option to hypermarkets.

The Ministry’s secretary-general, Mohd. Zain Mohd. Dom, told FMT in an email today that Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob ‘had never said’ that all KR1M products were 50% cheaper.

He was responding to a recent article entitled “BN is the one short-changing us, not PR” in which Petaling Jaya Utara MP, Tony Pua, and Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar were quoted as accusing BN of misleading people on these claimed savings.

On November 9 Pua told the media that basic items at KR1M could be obtained for the same price or even cheaper at Carrefour and Tesco.

“It is important to acknowledge that when the minister spoke of savings of up to 50% on KR1M products he never at any time stated that the savings applied to ALL 250 items.

“Rather his statement has been consistent in that KR1M products are being sold at prices cheaper by certain percentage margins up to a maximum of 50%,” Zain said.

Zain added that the price comparison that Ismail alluded to is between KR1M products and similarly branded products in the market place, and not with the house brands of hypermarkets.

“With regards to the RM40 million, the money is used for capital expenditures to refurbish and upgrade premises that have been selected and identified for KR1M operations,” he said.