KUCHING: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Sarawak has assured the public that there is sufficient supply of chickens in the market during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Gawai Dayak celebrations.
Its director Datuk Stanley Tan in a statement yesterday said the ministry in collaboration with the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry would work together to ensure that the supplies of daily essentials are adequate and sold at affordable prices.
“To convince the public that there are enough chickens (during both festivals), today my officials and I visited K&L Farming Industries Sdn Bhd (one of the major farms in the state) at Jalan Kuching-Serian.
“During the visit, we were informed by the farm manager that on average, they produce 14,000 chickens a day, which is sufficient for the coming festive seasons,” he said.
On the prices, he said the sale price of 1kg of chicken (standard) from January to May this year was between RM6.90 and RM8.50 per kg. This has remained constant throughout the conditional movement control order (CMCO) period.
Besides that, Tan said the ministry would implement Hari Raya Maximum Price Scheme from today until June 3 while for the Gawai Dayak and Kaamatan Festival, it will be from May 28 to June 3.
Therefore, he warned all traders not to raise prices unreasonably while consumers are advised not to do panic buying as it could raise prices of chickens.
“Traders found to have raised prices above the profit margin will be subject to strict action under Section 14 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
“On conviction, they can be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed not more than three years or both. For companies or organisations, they can be fined up to RM500,000,” he said.
To make complaints, visit http://e-aduan.kpdnhep.gov.my or call the ministry’s hotline at 1-800-886-800 or WhatsApp at 019-2794317.
