SHAH ALAM: Companies repackaging subsidised cooking oil in 1kg polybags have their own brands and they can be identified if smuggled out of the country, says Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid.
He said authorities had detected some cooking oil at the country’s border and had immediately suspended a factory until further notice.
He said the brands of two repackers, one with an address in Perak and the other in Selangor, had been identified.
“So it shows that such companies can be from any state.
“Before this, we thought that the smuggling would have involved repackaging operations closer to the border, but it’s not,” he said after conducting checks on two cooking oil repackers at Bandar Pinggiran Subang yesterday.
He said in some instances, the supply of subsidised cooking oil from wholesalers did not reach retailers.
He also said the government was beefing up surveillance and enforcement because the price of cooking oil had been an issue of concern of late.
Spot check: Rosol (second right) with Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs supplies section enforcement chief Shahrudin Hamzah conducting checks at a cooking oil repackaging operation on the fringe of Subang and Shah Alam. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
“We have been conducting enforcement but are more aggressive now because it has become a sensitive issue,” he added.
Since 2021, Rosol said the ministry had suspended 15 repackaging operations for suspected offences, including smuggling subsidised cooking oil.
Among them, nine had their licences revoked, he said.
Rosol said there would be no shortfall of subsidised cooking oil even if errant companies were suspended.
“When a repackaging operation is halted, it doesn’t mean that the cooking oil quota will be affected.
“The unfulfilled quota will be distributed to other nearby operations. This is to ensure supply and distribution are not affected,” he said.
When asked, Rosol said those involved in the smuggling of subsidised cooking oil were likely companies and individuals.
Subsidised cooking oil is priced at RM2.50/kg, compared with its market price of about RM8/kg.
On Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that enforcement agencies would conduct checks on cooking oil repackers to tackle irregularities.
The extensive audit would involve 22 manufacturers and 305 premises repackaging cooking oil nationwide.
As of July 4, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had received 22 complaints involving cooking oil.
The ministry had also developed a comprehensive plan to ascertain the actual supply status of the 1kg packets of subsidised cooking oil.
Enforcement officers throughout the country will be mobilised aggressively to monitor unethical behaviour such as hoarding controlled items, especially the 1kg subsidised cooking oil.
It is to ensure the supply and those of other food items in rural and suburban areas are unaffected, adequate and easily accessible for consumers at an affordable price at all times.
The ministry said it would also focus on the retail pricing of bottled cooking oil that had been floated beginning July 1 to ensure reasonable prices and no profiteering.
Those found to be doing so will be issued a notice under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and investigated for profiteering offences.
Enforcement personnel will always be at busy shopping locations such as markets, farmers’ markets and supermarkets to inspect and monitor.
