Junz Wong: Why no price control for cooking oil in Sabah?

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KOTA KINABALU (Aug 2): Tanjung Aru assemblyman Datuk Junz Wong has questioned why the price control for cooking oil is applicable only to Peninsular Malaysia.

Junz said the imposition of a ceiling price for 5kg bottled palm cooking oil will be good news for coffeeshop/food stall owners and low-income households, but he could not understand why it is not applicable in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who chairs the Jihad Against Inflation special task force, on Monday announced 5kg bottled palm cooking oil will be set at RM34.70 in West Malaysia starting next Monday (August 8).

“Does this imply that Sabahans, Sarawakians and Labuanian continue to pay higher prices for 5kg bottled palm cooking oil?” asked Junz in a statement on Tuesday.

“During my walkabout to several supermarkets in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah beginning of last month, Seri Murni, Buruh, Alif, Vesawit and Saji 5kg bottled cooking oil was between RM45 to RM50.

“As all these branded cooking oils are from West Malaysia, the price range that Sabahans paid last month inclusive of logistics and transportation costs from West Malaysia to Sabah.

“Are Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan continue to be neglected and sidelined by the federal government?”

Junz, who is Warisan vice-president, said Sabahans, Sarawakians and Labuanians who reside in their respective state/federal territory, should not deserved to suffer from unfair measures. They deserve to enjoy the same privilege as West Malaysians.

“Therefore, I would like to request Tan Sri Annuar Musa to set the same ceiling price for 5kg bottled palm cooking oil for Sabah and Sarawak. Now Sabahans, Sarawakians and Labuanian have to pay more for chicken and eggs than West Malaysians,” he said.

With a new price ceiling from July, the standard round chicken in Peninsular Malaysia costs at RM9.40 per kg. On the other hand, the price ceiling for Grade A, B and C chicken eggs was RM0.45, RM0.43 and RM0.41 each, respectively.

Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan experienced at least a few ringgit increases during the introduction of the new price ceiling for chicken – at RM11-RM11.30 per kg, RM9.80-RM12.90 and RM11.30, respectively.

Similarly, the price of grade A egg is at RM0.47 each in Sarawak, except in Limbang and Lawas (RM0.49 each), grade B (RM0.45 to RM0.48) and grade C (RM0.43 to RM 0.46). The price of grade A, B and C eggs in Sabah is RM0.50-RM0.51 each, RM0.49-RM0.50 and RM0.48-RM0.49, respectively.

For Labuan, the grade A egg is set at RM0.51 each, for grade B at RM0.50 and grade C at RM0.49.

Junz also reminded Annuar that the price ceiling for 5kg bottled palm cooking oil is only applicable for the short term, with a maximum period of three months.

Take chicken as an example: the imposition of an export ban for commercial broilers, round chicken, chicken cuts and day-old chicks (DOC) since June and ongoing price ceiling measures since February have resulted in Malaysia having an oversupply of chicken.

“I am concerned that Singapore might not import chicken supply from Malaysia anymore if both the export ban and price ceiling measures persist. Japfa Comfeed Indonesia (JCI), an Indonesian agri-food company already stated its interest in setting up three new farms in Bintan this year to supply live chicken in Singapore,” he said.

To avoid Malaysia losing out on its comparative advantage in chicken export, he proposed the current administration should remove the export ban and price ceiling measures without hesitation.

In addition, the current administration could evaluate the effectiveness of the ceiling price for 5kg bottled palm cooking oil monthly. However, the government still require sustainable solutions to manage the cooking oil price in the long run.

“I opined the government provide cooking oil vouchers to coffeeshop/food stall owners and low-income households while introducing price ceiling measures. To avoid profiteering and smuggling of cooking oil, the government should conduct a thorough supply chain investigation -from production, processing and distribution to sales on a regular basis,” he added.