Good deals: Ismail Sabri (centre) checking out various produce being sold under government initiatives at Dataran Kerayong in Bera, Pahang. Looking on beside him is Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi. — Bernama
BERA: The Special Task Force on Jihad against Inflation, created to help Malaysians deal with the rising cost of living, is beginning to show positive results, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The task force, he added, had succeeded in controlling price hikes and guaranteeing adequate supply of goods, especially chicken and bottled cooking oil.
“Various initiatives are being carried out to help the people face the cost of living challenge and inflation crisis that is affecting the whole world.
“The government expanded and rebranded the Keluarga Malaysia Sales Programme (PJKM) to the Keluarga Malaysia Cheap Sale Programme (JMKM) involving 600 state constituencies across the country and 13 parliamentary constituencies in the Federal Territories,” he said.
The Prime Minister said this at the launch of the national-level Retail Sector Digitalisation Initiative (ReDI) Programme and the rebranding of JMKM here yesterday.
JMKM, which starts in the third week of this month until December, offered essential items up to 20% below the local market price, reported Bernama.
Ismail Sabri said the government had allocated RM80mil through five implementing agencies to make JMKM a success.
During another event, he said the digitalisation agenda, especially the use of e-wallets among consumers and traders, would be expanded to rural areas through ReDI.
He said ReDI, spearheaded by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, was a timely and proactive move supported by Bank Negara Malaysia in creating an inclusive digital society.
“There was currently a wide gap in cashless payments between urban and rural areas, even though the government wanted rural communities not to be left out or marginalised from the digital economy advancement. The government wiould continue to ensure the digitalisation agenda became the main focus at all levels, including expanding electronic payment methods nationwide.
“Through this effort, the government was confident that the transition to electronic payment methods such as the use of e-wallets was not only easy, fast and secure but also helped traders manage their businesses better and more efficiently,” he said at the launch of the National ReDI Programme and the rebranding of JMKM at Dataran Kerayong.
To encourage cashless payments, the Prime Minister said the government would be offering “Program Jualan Malaysia” e-vouchers with an allocation of RM2mil from Aug 30 to Dec 31, which could be downloaded from the ministry’s MySales Tracker application.
As for Bera, he said an e-wallet incentive of RM20 would be provided to 1,000 people, in addition to RM100 credit to 1,500 people from selected target groups in each state constituency under the parliamentary constituency.
In his speech, Ismail Sabri said online transactions had become the new norm, in fact, cashless payment, which is the catalyst for the digital economy, was projected to contribute 25% to the GDP by 2025.
“Based on the Payment Network Malaysia (PayNet) Digital Payment Insight Study 2022, the percentage of Malaysians using cash for payment purposes decreased by 11 points to 78% from 89% before the pandemic,” he said.
Among the initiatives implemented to encourage cashless payments through e-wallets was e-Pemula, involving an allocation of RM300mil under Budget 2022, which had benefited around two million youths nationwide after it was launched in April.
