MALAYSIANS living in Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Federal Territories will be able to buy their basic necessities at subsidised rates, lower than the ceiling price under the Jualan Rakyat MYGrocer@Wilayah subsidy programme held on weekdays from July till the end of December.
This weekly initiative is in addition to the current Federal Territories Ministry’s MYGrocer@Wilayah – held daily which will include subsidies for chicken and chicken eggs.
Under the programme, it is expected to help B40 households save expenses of up to 14.29% on chicken and eggs purchases. Chickens will be sold at RM3 less than the current retail price, while chicken eggs are 50sen less for 10 pieces.
In a recent interview with The Star TV, residents at the housing projects (PPR) Beringin in PPR Utara said that they are grateful for the initiative and hope more items will be included in the future.
“I heard about this from my friend. The price is worth it and the fish are fresh. (I find that) this is beneficial to help us save. It is also easy as we don’t have to go (far) as that would be expensive with the cost of transport and items are more expensive,” said general worker R.Mageswary.
Meanwhile, housewife Noor Liana Abd Samad said if it's possible for this initiative to continue it would be beneficial.
“I always buy vegetables and meat like chicken and fish and other days rice and eggs. To some extent it does help us because items are cheaper than usual prices,” she said.
Concurring saleswoman Lisa Chong said: “This initiative should continue because when we go to the supermarket and one bitter gourd costs RM4 – how can I buy it?”
“(This mobile truck) is not bad. They have seafood and chicken but should add more options for vegetables,” she said.
The subsidy programme is able to assist locals especially the B40 community with easy access to daily necessities at a fraction of the cost elsewhere, giving them the opportunity to not only eat well but also save more on their marketing expenses.
With the aim to ease the increasing cost of living for B40 residents, the Federal Territories Ministry allocated RM1.53mil, which is set to benefit an estimated 73,000 Wilayah Persekutuan residents.
Easing the people’s burden
The Federal Territories Ministry’s MYGrocer@Wilayah initiative began on Aug 29, 2020 to help locals in need with only four mobile market trucks.
Goods sold are between 5% and 20% less than the usual market price on a variety of daily necessities including cooking oil, sugar, wheat flour, rice, fish and vegetables.
However, more recently, the government has made strides in efforts to reduce the daily burden on the people, especially the B40 group, in light of the rise in global commodity prices, domestic supply chain disruptions and the depreciation of the ringgit.
The government launched a targeted subsidy policy for B40 families in June and announced an allocation of RM4bil towards cooking oil packet subsidies in July.
In tandem, the Federal Territories Ministry took steps to introduce the Jualan Rakyat MYGrocer@Wilayah initiatives focusing on the sale of fresh chicken and chicken eggs (includes all egg’s grades) at subsidised prices directly to the B40 residents.
Jualan Rakyat MYGrocer@Wilayah was launched at public housing projects (PA) Sri Johor on July 14, giving residents the option to shop at a lower price than the ceiling price set by the government.
In The Star’s report on the launch, the programme initiative was one of the ministry’s efforts to alleviate the economic burden of Keluarga Malaysia and reduce the impact of inflation.
This programme is expected to reduce the cost of living burden, especially among the B40 group in the Federal Territories.
A total of 1,707 coupons have been distributed to qualified heads of household (KIR) among B40 residents through the Federal Territories Foundation and the Residents' Association according to their respective zones.
Kuala Lumpur residents will be able to purchase subsidised goods from the ongoing MyGrocer@Wilayah mobile market truck. Nine trucks will make their rounds through 33 locations in Kuala Lumpur covering 29 PPR and PA plus four low-medium cost housing.
Bulk purchases exceeding 20 units per area can be pre-ordered and managed by the MYGrocer@Wilayah operator.
Meanwhile, Jualan Rakyat MYGrocer@Wilayah in Labuan was launched at Labuan Central Market on July 26, where coupons were also distributed to the village heads in Labuan.
These coupons can be used to subsidise prices every month at any selected retailer including supermarkets and farmers' markets in Labuan locations on weekdays.
Labuan residents can get subsidised prices on super- and standard-grade chicken and 10 grade A, B and C chicken eggs, which was set to overcome the lack of supply of these two items.
At the recently held Karnival Putrajaya, The Star TV reported that visitors were able to visit MYGrocer@Wilayah stall which offered whole chicken at the price of RM5.
According to Karnival Putrajaya patron general worker M.Gunavalli she was able to buy vegetables, chicken, cooking oil and onion.
“It is very cheap and can last us for a while. We can save a lot of money. I am very happy to be here today and see so many people,” she said.
Technician Mohd Azam Shah said: “I feel very happy because it is so cheap. Yesterday I bought some chicken too but it is cheaper here. It is worth it to come here. I think they need to add more items and also the space is limited. They should conduct the sale at a place where it is more spacious.”
Meanwhile, Nur Anis Syahirah Ahmad found the stall to be helpful and the prices reasonable.
“I saved 10% of my daily grocery spending. Usually I pay RM17 for one whole chicken. Today, I only paid RM5. It is very reasonable and I saved a lot buying this chicken,” she said.
