MELAKA, Jan 12 — The office of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Melaka limits the number of purchases for some high demand items such as white bread, chicken, eggs, sugar, flour and rice in all supermarkets and retail shops in the state.
State Unity, Community Relations, Human Resources and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Ismail Othman said it was to prevent a similar situation last year from recurring when the country would return to implement the movement control order (MCO) tomorrow.
He said a notification letter on the matter had been distributed to all business premises involving about 8,000 retail traders as well as shopping malls, supermarkets and petrol stations.
“This initiative is done to control resources so that there is no panic buying among consumers and ensure that they buy according to their needs.
“For example, Gardenia brand bread is the best-selling item and is in demand by consumers during MCO, so we limit one pack for one family and this applies to bread for other brands,” he told reporters after conducting a survey at a supermarket in Ayer Keroh in here, today.
Ismail said buyers also did not need to panic because the results of monitoring carried out by KPDNHEP found that the supply of goods in all retail sectors is sufficient while all business operations involving manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers were still functioning as usual.
He said the situation was different when the MCO was first implemented on March 18 last year which saw most business premises being forced to close and affecting essential goods in the market.
The monitoring of these essential goods involves 140 selected district retailers (DDR), 58 selected district wholesalers (DDW) and also a number of mini stocks from the DDW list consisting of goods dealers throughout the state who acted as suppliers and distributors.
“Therefore, consumers are advised to avoid buying panic because it can contribute to the lack of supply of essential goods in the market,” he said. — Bernama
