244 premises were found to have price profiteering elements – Fuziah Salleh
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) found that 244 of the 21,038 premises inspected since Ops Kesan 2.0 was launched on June 8 were found to have price-gouging elements.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Fuziah Salleh, said written notices to the premises involved have been issued.
“This written notice is like a show cause letter, and they need to state information such as the total cost of transportation, production, and so on.
“If there is an element of profiteering, investigation papers will be opened, and if found guilty, they will be investigated under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly today.
He said this when answering a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Salehuddin Saidin, who wanted to know the action of the KPDN against premises that sell goods at extraordinary prices.
Ops Kesan 2.0 aims to ensure that there is no excessive increase in the prices of goods and services following the government’s announcement regarding the adjustment of diesel retail prices.
Meanwhile, in response to a question from Senator Hussin Ismail, who was curious about the diesel subsidy for the group of agricultural vehicles that use diesel, Fuziah said the parties involved can submit an appeal to obtain a diesel subsidy to the Appeals Committee run by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
“So far, dredges are not included in the 23 categories that get diesel subsidies because they provide services and do not carry goods.
“They can bring a proposal for a memorandum of engagement with the ministries involved because we at the KPDN implement it, and I have also received appeals submitted by some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that represent them,” he said.
Fuziah said KPDN identified four construction companies suspected of supplying goods at high prices, and the companies involved were called to KPDN headquarters to give an explanation.
He answered a question from Hussin, who wanted to know the measures taken by the KPDN to deal with inflation and the double effect of the increase in the price of essential goods and construction materials following the diesel subsidy adjustment.
