THE GOVERNMENT can only reduce – not completely stop – the smuggling of subsidised bottled cooking oil to neighbouring countries, Parliament heard today.
No reason was given for this. However, Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid said his ministry is on the ball.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat this morning, Rosol cited increased enforcement efforts such as audits on companies producing and repacking cooking oil to ensure no “leakages” in the system.
“We have detected (leaks) to other countries (associated with) repackers as well as wholesalers (of cooking oil),” Rosol told former KPDNHEP minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
“So, with this audit system, we will be able to see how the leaks took place, and InsyaAllah, we will try to solve this issue soon.
“Even though we can’t completely solve it, we can try to reduce it,” he said, adding that strict ministry enforcement and the drop in crude palm oil (CPO) prices would also make a difference.
Meanwhile, replying to Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub, Rosol said his ministry has yet to come up with an index to scrutinise the effectiveness of ministry enforcement efforts to stop the leakages.
“But we have hauled more than 14 companies to court over (suspected) smuggling of cooking oil to neighbouring countries, and revoked their quotas (to produce or repackage cooking oil).”
The Kuala Terengganu MP added that his ministry would consider the UMNO lawmaker’s suggestion for government-linked companies to play a bigger role in combating the issue by being allowed to repackage cooking oil.
“Millions spent already”
Rosol also said the Government has so far forked out more than RM380 mil (or RM382,120,451.71) on cooking oil subsidies (as of June 2022). He did not mention a starting date.
The Kuala Terengganu MP was responding to Padang Serai MP Karuppaiya Muthusamy, who had earlier pleaded to the Government to tackle rising cost of living issues.
“(Prices) of goods have all gone up, dried fish too – that’s the food of orang kampung. It’s very sad,” the PKR lawmaker said in an impassioned plea.
The subsidy for cooking oil in bottles of 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg was a temporary measure introduced in August 2021 to help the rakyat cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each month, the Government spent RM55 mil to subsidise 60,000 tonnes of cooking oil. More than the RM2.2 bil was spent by the Government in 2021, while RM500 mil was forked out in 2020.
However, after the Government discovered that the subsidy had been abused by industrial and commercial parties, as well as smugglers, it said last month it would remove the ceiling price.
After widespread uproar amid rising inflation, the Government eventually said it would maintain its subsidy for cooking oil, and revert to the original pricing mechanism in place before the pandemic.
The Government is still subsidising packet cooking oil (sold in 1kg polybags), capped at a ceiling price of RM2.50 – which Rosol said shows the Government “cares”.
Earlier today, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) called for a boycott of purchases of costly bottled cooking oil in an effort to pressure suppliers to bring down their prices and complement the decline in CPO prices. – July 25, 2022
