KOTA KINABALU: A total of 16,059 premises have been inspected over the last 10 days since the start of Ramadan under Ops Pantau, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Ali.
He said that from the total inspections, there were 295 cases involving seizures worth RM1.09mil, while 229 cases involved traders who were compounded, amounting to a total of RM57,500.
“Ops Pantau will continue until March 20. It is to ensure traders comply with the law, including price tagging, the use of weighing and measuring instruments, as well as the monitoring of supply and prices of goods,” he said during the Sentuhan Kasih Consumer Advocacy and Rahmah Madani Sales Programme for the Kawang state constituency in Papar, about 40km from here.
Armizan said inspections involved various premises, including Ramadan bazaars, Aidilfitri bazaars, public markets and grocery stores.
Of the 16,059 premises inspected, he said 6,268 were Ramadan bazaars, with only two cases recorded.
“This shows that compliance among traders at Ramadan bazaars is very satisfactory,” he said.
He explained that the offences detected included failure to display price tags and the use of weighing and measuring instruments that were not verified according to the required standards.
On viral complaints about prices on social media, Armizan said the ministry would obtain further information and issue notices to traders for clarification.
“If the prices are the same as in previous years, then there is no element of profiteering,” he said.
