JOHOR BARU: The Johor branch of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry denies claims that the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (eCOSS) mobile application prevents certain groups including senior citizens, from purchasing the subsidised 1kg cooking oil packets.
Its director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo said that besides scanning the QR code via the application, consumers are also given the option to register manually through a logbook provided at supermarkets.
“This method ensures that those without smartphones can still obtain subsidised cooking oil packets in a legitimate and orderly manner.
“Even before the pilot project was rolled out, we engaged with supermarkets to ensure smooth implementation that would not affect consumers,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 9).
She added that officers were stationed at sales counters during the first five days of the pilot programme to conduct Training of Trainers sessions for both consumers and supermarket operators.
“To date, a total of 111,480 purchases have been recorded through the eCOSS app, while 47,141 transactions were carried out manually,” she said.
Lilis Saslinda said these figures show that both methods are functioning effectively and are widely used by consumers.
“This ensures that no one, especially senior citizens and those with limited access to technology, is left out from benefiting from the subsidy.
“I also urge supermarkets to inform consumers about the manual registration option and to give their full cooperation to ensure the programme runs smoothly,” she added.
She said consumers can lodge complaints regarding subsidised cooking oil purchases through WhatsApp at 019-848 8000, the e-aduan@kpdn.gov.my portal, the toll-free line 1-800-886-800, or the Ez ADU KPDN mobile application.
On Sept 8, a local online news outlet reported that senior citizens were unable to buy subsidised cooking oil packets due to difficulties in using the eCOSS application.
The eCOSS mobile application functions to record all transactions of the subsidised 1kg cooking oil packets from producers, packagers, wholesalers and retailers to the end consumers.
The eCOSS pilot programme was first introduced under the Jualan Rahmah Madani initiative on July 12 and later extended to the subsidised cooking oil distribution programme in Johor starting Aug 11.
