PM: Govt didn't U-turn on chicken ceiling price, just listened to people

 

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob denied the government U-turned on ceiling prices for chicken.

Instead, he said the decision to reinstate the ceiling price, just three days after deciding to remove it, was because the government listened to the people.

"The decision (not to float chicken prices) was made after listening to the people's views.

"This decision benefits the people, it is not a U-turn. We did it for the people's benefit," he was quoted as saying by Bernama today.

On June 21, the government announced it was removing the subsidised ceiling price for chicken and chicken eggs, as well as removing subsidies for bottled cooking oil.

Following a backlash, Ismail Sabri went on live television the next day to stress that the government still retained subsidies for cooking oil sold in 1kg polybags.

He, however, stuck by the decision to remove ceiling prices for chicken and eggs and acknowledged this would lead to price hikes.

He said then that the government would instead help B40 (bottom 40 percent of income earner) households by injecting an extra RM100 into the second round payment of Keluarga Malaysia Aid (BKM), raising it to RM500.

Then yesterday, just three days after the initial announcement and hours before an Umno supreme council meeting, Ismail Sabri announced the government would not allow the free float of chicken prices but will instead set a new ceiling price. - Mkini