Ministry may place more household goods under price control

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will consider placing more popular household items under price control.

Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced this after attending a National Cost of Living Action Council meeting today, the first of the year.

“The council ordered the ministry to study several popular consumer goods which are facing increasing costs and to try to include them as price-controlled goods.

“The council did not specify what the goods were but the ministry has been asked to study and suggest (a list),” he told a press conference in Putrajaya this evening.

The present list of price-controlled goods includes sugar, milk, salt and cooking oil.

The meeting, which was chaired by deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, also accepted a suggestion by the Transport Ministry to cut KTM Komuter ticket fares by 20 percent.

“The Transport Ministry will prepare a memo and present their suggestion to the cabinet,” Saifuddin said.

The PKR politician admitted that the rising cost of living needed to be addressed and stressed that the council was doing just that.

This comes as opposition politicians, most notably former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, hammer the Pakatan Harapan government for their failure to address the issue.

“[...] I want to focus on my job and there is a need to manage the cost of living. My approach is to move forward and admit that this is an issue which warrants the government’s attention. We are trying our best.

“In the meantime, the opposition is free to offer their views. If they have any ideas about helping the rakyat, we are ready to hear them. There is no issue about that,” Saifuddin said.

The council was revived last September to address six contributors to the rising cost of living - food, housing, utilities, health, education and transport. -Mkini