KOTA KINABALU: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry says that micro and small traders in the food and beverage sector can continue to use subsidised LPG cylinders as long as they offer affordable prices to consumers.
Its minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said that food and beverage vendors who offer their wares at reasonable prices would continue to be guaranteed access to LPG subsidies.
He said this is among aspects considered when amending the Supply Control Regulations (Amendment) 2021. Engagement sessions to gather feedback and views on the proposal will be held starting Tuesday (July 1) until Ops Gasak concludes on Oct 31.
He said the previous regulations only allowed less than 42kg of subsidised LPG at any given time but the implemented amendment would take into account the needs of food traders.
“We will also look at the control mechanism to ensure that there are no leakages for this subsidy, especially related to smuggling and misappropriation,” he said during a press conference here on Monday (June 30).
Earlier, Armizan attended an engagement session involving food and beverage traders’ associations in Sabah to gather their views and feedback on the proposed amendments to the regulations.
He added that the ministry had also established a technical committee to review appropriate “rakyat (-friendly) prices” to be imposed on consumers, taking into account basic cost of living data to be released by the Statistics Department as a guide. – Bernama