KOTA KINABALU: More than 16,000 premises have been inspected in the last 10 days, since the start of Ramadan, under Ops Pantau, says Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Ali (pic).
From the total inspections, there were 295 cases involving seizures worth RM1.09mil while 229 cases involved compounding traders amounting to a total of RM57,500, he said.
“Ops Pantau will continue till March 20. It is to ensure traders comply with the law, including price tagging, the use of weighing and measuring instruments, as well as monitoring of supply and prices of goods,” he said during the Sentuhan Kasih Consumer Advocacy and Rahmah Madani Sales Programme for Kawang state constituency in Papar, about 40km from here.
Armizan said inspections involved various premises including bazaars, 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 satisfactory.”
He explained that the offences detected included failure to display price tags and the use of weighing and measuring instruments 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 sold are the same as in previous years, then there is no element of profiteering,” he said.
