Subsidies removed for bottled cooking oil

There will be no subsidies for bottled cooking oil but subsidies for cooking oil sold in bags will remain, said Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Co-operatives Minister Hamzah Zainuddin.

Cooking oil sold in bags will remain at RM2.50 per kilogram, he told reporters in Putrajaya.

"To ensure the rakyat continue to live comfortably, the government will endeavour to maintain cooking oil subsidies for target groups," he said.

Hamzah said the move comes following a hike in oil prices from RM2,729 per metric tonne in August to RM3,000 per metric tonne.

He said the changes to the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (COSS) is part of the subsidy rationalisation plan.

Without the cuts, Hamzah added, the government will need to fork out an additional RM100 million.

"(It) has reached a large figure," he said.

Last week, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said cooking oil subsidies will continue.

"The people will not be affected and will continue to be subsidised... the cooking oil subsidy given by the government is used for export sale. This is what we want to control," Johari had said. - Mkini