KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry will develop a more sustainable long-term approach to the current Payung Rahmah initiative.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said that internal discussions were underway and that one promising recommendation was for big industry players to take turns running Rahmah discount campaigns.
"The plan is to have a Rahmah promotion campaign run by a single industry player over a period of time and once that campaign is over, another industry player will run theirs, and so on.
"This will ensure that at least one Payung Rahmah initiative will be running at all times throughout the year," he said after launching another Payung Rahmah promotion campaign for department store chain 99 Speed Mart on Thursday (March 23).
Throughout 99 Speed Mart campaign's one-month period until April 22, all 2,300 99 Speed Mart stores across the country will offer further discounts of up to 40% for 150 items already discounted by the company's current existing promotions.
This includes basic necessities such as rice, beverages, Raya snacks and washing liquids.
He added that the quality of goods sold under the Payung Rahmah initiative would not be compromised due to the continuous engagement by his ministry with industry players and consumers.
"We frequently discuss with industry players to ensure that any planned Payung Rahmah initiative campaign is tangible before proceeding.
"Once a campaign is launched, we keep close tabs to quickly respond to any possible complaints from consumers on the goods' quality.
"This is critical, as any negative feedback spreads extremely fast now, so any failure on our part or the industry players' part can significantly damage public perception towards both my ministry and the industry player involved," he said.
