Caretaker domestic trade, cooperatives, and consumerism minister Hamzah Zainuddin dished out groceries at big discounts during the Putrajaya Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat programme today.
Armed with a microphone, Hamzah disrupted the already cheap sales by first lowering the price of whole chicken from RM7 to RM5 with a limit of four chickens per person.
"When the minister sells, it will be cheaper. Why did you all rush? You should have waited for the minister," Hamzah joked with the crowd before slashing the price of chicken.
He then caused a mad rush for rice when he announced that two bags of 10kg rice would be sold for just RM10, or RM5 per bag. The 'Faiza Emas' brand rice's normal retail price is RM26 per 10kg bag.
Other goods that the Hamzah unilaterally slashed prices of as he moved from stall to stall included beef from RM20 per kg to RM15 as well as potatoes, onions, eggs, frozen fish, Milo and condensed milk.
Each time he announced a discount, incumbent Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Chief Secretary to the Government Ali Hamsa and Umno permanent chairperson Badrudin Amiruldin would assist by packing the goods for buyers and acting as impromptu cashiers.
"Lelong, lelong," Tengku Adnan would yell while repeating the price of the newly discounted goods for good measure.
Met by the press later, the caretaker federal territories minister said the caretaker government wanted to ease the people's burden with the programme.
"We are grateful because the government of today always helps ease the people's burdens. We want the rakyat to be happy. Don't worry be happy. You've got BN!" he exclaimed.
Meanwhile, wholesalers who had already set-up their stalls at the empty parking lot before Hamzah arrived told Malaysiakini they were caught off-guard by Hamzah's impromptu discounts.
"I was shocked because we were already selling (whole chicken) at a low price (RM7) then the minister further subsidised it to RM5 and the response was good," Amnah Ibrahim, a public relations representative of major poultry company Leong Hup International, told Malaysiakini.
High cost of living
Asked by reporters if the ministry would compensate the sellers, Hamzah responded: "That is between the domestic trade ministry and the wholesalers."
Amnah and a representative from the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) clarified later that the ministry would compensate the retailers to help them break even.
"The ministry will give some compensation to ensure that the sales are at cost [...]our capital will not be eroded," Fama Dengkil operating director Mohd Syafiee Mohd Sait said.
As for whether this sales model was sustainable, Amnah explained that it was okay for Leong Hup as they also had other revenue streams beyond the Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat programme.
"We are happy to help the government […] because the cost of living is high so when the government does this, it helps the people," she said.
Meanwhile, shoppers at the sale also hoped the government would be able to continue the programme beyond the election season as cost of living now was too high.
"This is great and I hope it can be continued and not just held at times like this during election time," Meor Helmi Meor Zainul, a spouse of a civil servant told Malaysiakini.
"We will give the mandate back to the (present) government because programmes like this really help the people," he added.
Cost of living is one of the major issues politicians from both sides seek to tackle in the run-up to the coming general election.
BN's manifesto for GE14 includes efforts to increase cash handouts to the people such as by enhancing the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) scheme.
Pakatan Harapan's main gambit to decrease the cost of living, meanwhile, is to scrap the goods and services tax (GST).
Last December, celebrity figures such as Sheila Majid caused a public stir, when she raised concerns about the price of goods, which later became a talking point at the Umno general assembly.
In early February, Ameer Ali Mydin - the managing director of popular hypermarket chain Mydin - said that the country's high GDP figure did not translate into more purchasing power for consumers, and that people were spending less on groceries. - Mkini
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