Stop panic buying, there are enough supplies to go around, says Nanta

PETALING JAYA: Stop panic buying to avoid disruption in the supply of items at the shops, warns Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

"Consumers should not to panic buy or over buy to avoid supply disruption at the sales premises," the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister said in a statement Saturday (May 29)

Nanta said that his officers will continue to monitor the situation while reiterating assurances of adequate supplies during the lockdown.

His advice comes in the wake of reports of panic buying following the government's announcement of a two-week full MCO lockdown to begin June 1.

Instances of panic buying happened despite the government's reassurances that essential items will be available during the two-week lockdown from June 1 to 14.

On Saturday (May 29), social media users reported long queues of people grocery shopping and stocking up ahead of the lockdown next week.

On a separate matter, Nanta said that the ministry is suspending its Ops Had2j in light of the announcement.

The operation was launched earlier to monitor strict compliance of the SOPs under MCO 3.0 which came into force on Tuesday (May 25).

On Friday (May 28) night, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that a full lockdown would be in effect nationwide from June 1 to 14.

He said except for essential economic and service sectors, all other sectors will not be allowed to operate during this period.

A statement by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the decision was made following the sharp increase of Covid-19 cases on Friday (May 28), which saw 8,290 new cases and over 70,000 active cases in total.