MUKAH: There was no sign of panic buying here following the announcement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyddin Yassin yesterday.
Muhiyddin declared a nationwide travel ban and lockdowns in the federal capital as well as five states.
The state of emergency would last until Aug 1, or earlier, depending on the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Mukah chief Salihin Den said the ministry took note of panic buying reports said to be happening in a few areas in the country.
He added that panic buying should not happen because there was sufficient supply of goods following monitoring by the ministry’s enforcement section.
“All business premises at manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing levels are operating as usual, and this contributed to the stability and availability of essential goods in the market,” he said via WhatsApp in response to a query from the media, yesterday.
According to him, the current situation differed from when the movement control order (MCO) was first enforced on March 18, 2020, in which most businesses were closed, and this affected supply.
He assured that the ministry monitored the situation daily to ensure that essential goods are always sufficient and readily available.
Salihin disclosed that among the goods monitored included sugar, cooking oil, flour, rice, white bread, powdered milk, chicken, vegetables, eggs, onions, liquid hand sanitisers and face masks.
Twenty selected retailers or designated district retailers (DDR), comprising five in Mukah District, Balingian (two), Dalat (three), Matu (two) Daro (four) and Tanjung Manis (four), were monitored.
