Don’t take credit, it was Muhyiddin who launched price control scheme, says PN

The domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry says it has listed 35 items under the price control scheme compared to 27 last year.

PETALING JAYA: The domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry has shot back at Pakatan Harapan, reminding the opposition not to forget the man who mooted the price control scheme during festive seasons.

Its minister, Alexander Nanta Linggi, said the price control scheme was mooted and introduced by Muhyiddin Yassin, who was domestic trade and consumer affairs minister in 2000.

He said it was not appropriate for anyone to claim credit for the scheme.

“It was introduced way before Pakatan Harapan came into power, and has proven to be effective in curbing price hikes, especially when the demand for essential items is expected to increase,” he said in a statement.

PH’s secretariat council had said on Wednesday that Perikatan Nasional (PN) should “maintain” the price control policy, especially during festive seasons.

It said PN “should make use of PH’s success” in controlling the prices of goods and continuing policies to uphold the welfare of the people.

The council expressed concern over price hikes of food products with the approach of Aidilfitri and criticised the ministry for its slow action in managing them.

It said PH had managed to control the prices of 27 types of goods over 30 days, compared to the current government, which is only controlling prices of 11 products over 15 days.

However, Linggi pointed out that the festive price control scheme had been implemented by Putrajaya every year during the main festival seasons.

He said the mechanism to determine the number, type of items and prices had been updated from time to time, depending on the situation and the needs of the festivities.

“This is done after discussions with stakeholders,” he said.

Linggi said the prices of food items such as chicken had not gone up as they had merely returned to their “normal” levels after having fallen significantly during the movement control order (MCO) period.

He said the price control scheme was shortened to 15 days from 30 because of restrictions due to the MCO.

He also said his ministry had listed 35 items under the price control list compared to 27 items last year. - FMT