TAWAU, Oct 28 (Bernama) — Ninety-nine license holders for scheduled controlled goods (CSA) in Tawau gave their commitment to the ‘Kita Gempur’ movement aimed at combating manipulation and leakage of controlled and subsidised goods.
The Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said the initiative is crucial as it requires collaboration not only from the ministry but also from the stakeholders represented by the acronym ‘Kita’, which stands for government, industry, governance, and public, in Bahasa Malaysia.
“Strategic industry partners in the context of KPDN include CSA license holders and fuel station operators, while government strategic partners include enforcement agencies such as the Immigration Department, Royal Malaysian Customs Department, and the Road Transport Department.
“KPDN lacks the legal authority to control borders; hence, we need the collective support of these strategic partners,” he told reporters after officiating the Kita Gempur @ Tawau programme today.
The 99 strategic partners comprise 30 transportation companies, 29 fuel station operators, seven cooking oil packaging companies, 12 local consumer representatives, and 21 wholesalers and retailers from the Tawau area, all of whom signed a letter of commitment to participate in the movement.
Armizan said KPDN will expand the initiative by securing commitments from all CSA license holders nationwide.
“This initiative aims to reduce leakage of subsidised controlled items, ensuring that public funds allocated through government subsidies reach the intended target groups.
“For instance, transportation companies are responsible for providing services to transport seven controlled and subsidised items, namely rice, sugar, wheat flour, cooking oil, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), RON95 petrol, and diesel,” he added.
Earlier, in his speech, he noted that in 2023, the government incurred RM81 billion in subsidies in various forms, with approximately RM50 billion designated for consumer subsidies.
“The government provides substabtial subsidies, yet we still face complaints from the public, who express their frustration to KPDN, claiming the subsidies are not reaching them.
“For example, with a production of 60,000 metric tons of packaged cooking oil per month, we should have 60 million packets in the market each month. But where is this packaged cooking oil?” he continued.
He urged all parties, including the public, to act as the government’s eyes and ears by reporting any form of corruption or smuggling activities to KPDN, so that these detrimental activities affecting the people and the nation can be addressed.
— BERNAMA
