MELAKA, Feb 12 — Almost 2,000 people at the Telok Mas state constituency ‘Tok Ajak Rahmah Sale’ stacked their trolleys with necessities after taking advantage of cheaper products being sold compared with prevailing market prices.
State Rural Development, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman said the initiative was a response to the federal government's call to introduce Menu Rahmah recently in an effort to help ease the cost of living of the people.
“The offer today includes a special combo valued at RM20 for eight items like a bag of five kilogramme (kg) rice, a packet of rice vermicelli and two packets of cooking oil, sugar and flour beside a whole chicken at RM10, grade C eggs being sold at RM10 a tray to the first 1,000 visitors to the sales.
“Through this sales programme, visitors get to save while they shop and enjoy subsidies between RM3 and RM11.50 for purchases of items offered,” he said to reporters at the programme held at Kampung Ketapang, Telok Mas here today.
Abdul Razak further said that the response received at the programme was very encouraging and the people started arriving at 8.20am and the sale ended in just 30 minutes.
He said they planned to organise a monthly or fortnightly programme apart from encouraging other assemblymen to participate in the same initiative.
Meanwhile, a visitor, Sariah Mahmud, 53, said she was happy to be able to buy essentials at a price that was worth it and cheaper than in the market.
“Normally, we would buy a packet of rice at RM15 but in this programme, with RM20 we can also buy other items and this indirectly helps the people, especially those in the low-income group,” she said.
Another visitor, Halimah Jaafar, 82 said she arrived at 8 am after hearing about the programme from her friends.
“I am grateful and thankful to the government and I hope that more such programmes are organised in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, 65-year-old Umi Kalsom Lamin, said although she could not get hold of some of the items at the sale because they ran out of stock, she was happy to help bring along some of her neighbours to shop there. — Bernama
