KUALA LUMPUR: The monthly quota of 60,000 tonnes of subsidised packet cooking oil is sufficient to meet the needs of 80% of those in need, including street vendors across the country, says Fuziah Salleh.
"The current cooking oil quota is sufficient to meet the needs of eligible recipients based on identified consumption patterns," the Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 17).
She said the ministry had suspended 16 companies and revoked the quotas from 30 others in 2024 for misusing their allocated supply.
"The ministry takes this matter seriously and will not compromise on enforcement," she said in response to Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Initially introduced in 2007 to support households, the subsidised cooking oil scheme was extended to micro-industries in July 2022.According to 2022 data from the Statistics Department of Malaysia, the country had 7.9 million households, each requiring an average of 4.8kg of cooking oil per month.
For the bottom 80% of households, this amounts to 30.3 metric tonnes per month.
In 2023, the government found that micro-businesses, such as street vendors selling snacks like keropok lekor and nasi lemak, required 21.2 million metric tonnes.
The total allocation of 60,000 metric tonnes was deemed sufficient for 80% of households.
To prevent abuse, Fuziah said that purchases of subsidised cooking oil are limited to three packets per transaction, and exportation is strictly prohibited.
The ministry has also implemented the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (eCOSS) to track the oil’s journey from refineries to retailers, with plans to extend tracking to consumers in a 2025 pilot project.
However, she clarified that micro-businesses do not include restaurants, which fall under the "small business" category.
She added that ministry enforcers are inspecting restaurants to ensure they do not misuse subsidised cooking oil, as it is strictly for household and micro-business use.
Street vendors, however, are permitted to use it to prevent higher costs from being passed on to consumers.
While direct subsidy distribution is not yet in place, the ministry is exploring an ID-based system to ensure only eligible citizens benefit.
Fuziah reiterated that any company found abusing its quota would face immediate suspension or revocation.
Cha had asked about the total subsidy spent on eCOSS throughout 2024 and whether the ministry was prepared to increase the current quota of 60,000 metric tonnes of subsidised packet cooking oil in the retail market, given frequent complaints of supply shortages.
He also requested clarification on the government's decision regarding the matter.
