PETALING JAYA: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is implementing phased improvements to the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (COSS), including measures to encourage cooking oil repackers to source their supply from locally-owned refineries.
Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the intervention includes setting quota replacement conditions and introducing a business- matching mechanism between locally-owned refineries and repackers.
“The ministry welcomes the recommendations put forward by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the management of cooking oil price controls and subsidies, which were tabled in PAC Report DR 27 of 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat on July 16,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Taking into account issues that have arisen since COSS was introduced in 2007, Armizan said the ministry has been implementing phased improvement strategies and corrective measures since 2023.
He said the efforts were further strengthened through internal audits conducted by the ministry between December 2023 and June 2024.
Armizan said the ministry welcomed the PAC’s recommendation to expedite the transition from the current bulk subsidy system for 1kg packet cooking oil to a targeted subsidy system through the electronic Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (eCOSS). He noted that eCOSS has been implemented in two phases since 2023.
The first phase digitised the recording of monthly quotas, sales transactions and subsidy claims across the supply chain, replacing the manual system.
The second phase introduced the eCOSS mobile application, which has been piloted since May 2025 to record transactions between retailers and consumers.
Armizan said the system would be further enhanced with the introduction of the new national identity card by the National Registration Department, enabling consumers to verify their identity through QR code scanning during purchases. He said the move would facilitate targeted subsidies while preventing foreign nationals from purchasing subsidised 1kg packets of cooking oil.
Among the improvements already introduced are a ban on the sale of 1kg subsidised cooking oil packets to non-citizens, which took effect on March 1 this year, and the implementation of standard operating procedures for the management of used and damaged cooking oil from May 1.
The government has also maintained the maximum retail price of RM2.50 for 1kg packets of pure palm cooking oil, integrated eCOSS with the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) system, and strengthened monitoring through distribution audits.
Other measures include coordinated enforcement through the Inter-Agency Enforcement Coordination Supreme Committee to Combat Leakage and Smuggling and the Ops Tiris 4.0 task force.
The ministry will also ensure subsidised cooking oil is available at all Program Jualan Rahmah Madani events and introduce a zoning mechanism for distribution.
Under the zoning mechanism, repackers can determine only 50% of their retailer distribution list, while the remaining 50% of wholesalers and retailers will be assigned by the ministry.
He added that the ministry remains committed to continuously improving the management of COSS by taking into account findings from its internal audits, the National Audit Department’s report issued in July 2025, and the PAC report.
“The measures are crucial to ensure that the substantial government allocation for subsidised cooking oil reaches the intended beneficiaries through a more targeted distribution,” he added.
