The monthly quota of 60,000 tonnes of subsidised packet cooking oil is sufficient to meet the needs of 80% of those in need, including street vendors across the country, says Fuziah Salleh.
The Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 17) that the current cooking oil quota is sufficient to meet the needs of eligible recipients based on identified consumption pattern.
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The Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 17) that the current cooking oil quota is sufficient to meet the needs of eligible recipients based on identified consumption pattern.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is the first question.
00:04Mr. Speaker.
00:07Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
00:11Selamat pagi dan salam Malaysia Madani.
00:13Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
00:15Thank you to those who always ask questions about this cooking oil package course.
00:22Mr. Speaker, for 2024, the government has spent RM1.945 billion,
00:32i.e. RM845 million has been allocated for 2024
00:39and RM1.1 billion has been allocated in this supplementary bill.
00:44This is for the cooking oil price stabilization scheme.
00:49So, in terms of the government's willingness to add the cooking oil quota,
00:54the existing subsidy package, which is RM60,000 per month,
00:58the KPDN at this time considers that the existing quota is sufficient
01:04to meet the needs based on the cooking oil usage rate
01:12that we have identified who should receive the benefits.
01:20Mr. Speaker, allow me to explain a little that this course started in around 2007,
01:27where originally it was intended to help the family fill the house,
01:34the domestic use.
01:36But in July 2022, the Prime Minister at that time, Mr. Bera,
01:43extended the use of this subsidized cooking oil to the micro-industry.
01:51So, if we look at the number of households and the micro-industry,
01:55in the 2022 DATA-DOSM, the number of households is 7.9 million,
02:04whereas the DATA-DOSM also states that the need for one household
02:10is 4.8 kilograms of cooking oil per month.
02:15And if we take the bottom 80 or below 80% of households,
02:21the total is 30.3 metric tons per month.
02:26Then the DATA-DOSM in 2023 shows that if we provide the micro-industry
02:33such as night markets, curry pubs and so on,
02:42the DATA-DOSM shows that the amount we need is 21,285 metric tons.
02:50This means that the amount of 60,000 metric tons is enough
02:55to distribute to 80% of households in the micro-industry.
03:03So, apart from that, we set up three packages per purchase.
03:09We give the order to the supplier to prohibit export.
03:15This is a loan from KPKT, Mr. Tan Sri.
03:17So, he prohibits export, Mr. Tan Sri.
03:23Then we have an e-course system to track the travel of cooking oil
03:31from the refinery to the wholesaler, to the repacker, to the wholesaler, to the purchaser.
03:37We are just building it for the users.
03:42Inshallah, we will have a project in 2025 for the users.
03:48Apart from that, we make sure that there is a cooking oil package in the Juala Rahmah program.
03:53We also implement a zoning mechanism,
03:57where the repacker cannot easily send it anywhere,
04:01but 50% must go to the area that we know for sure.
04:07We also use the proximity of our farmland and forest to control it,
04:13so that there is no pollution.
04:15Thank you, Mr. Tan Sri.
04:17Thank you, Mr. Tan Sri.
04:20Thank you, Honorable Minister, for your answer.
04:23I take the information and respect the government's decision
04:28to establish the 60,000 metric tons quota.
04:32However, the current situation in the market, including in the big markets,
04:37does not mean that there will be a stop all the time.
04:41There may be a stop on a certain day or a certain time.
04:47So, how do we overcome this?
04:49Secondly, regarding the micro-businesses,
04:55are there any guidelines or special SOPs for those who can afford it?
05:02Because we don't want to have a big business, a big restaurant,
05:05taking opportunities when they are not qualified.
05:09Because I know, I think the KBDN knows,
05:12there are restaurants where they store a lot of oil packets in operation.
05:17So, I would like to ask for an explanation from the Honorable Minister.
05:21Thank you, Mr. Tan Sri.
05:23Thank you, Honorable Minister.
05:25Thank you, Honorable Minister.
05:27Mr. Tan Sri, if we look at it, micro-businesses do not include restaurants.
05:33In terms of micro-businesses, we do not include restaurants.
05:37So, if we include restaurants, it will be a small business.
05:43So, at this time, the KBDN's authority is to go to restaurants
05:51to ensure that there is no misuse of these oil packets.
05:56And we have also read reports about actions taken on restaurants
06:01that use oil packets.
06:03They cannot use oil packets.
06:05But if there are shopkeepers on the side of the road,
06:08at night markets, God willing, we will allow it.
06:11Because we don't want the cost to be reduced to the consumers.
06:16If, for example, shopkeepers want to use oil packets,
06:21maybe their costs will increase,
06:23the cost of export will increase,
06:25then they will pass the cost to the consumers.
06:30So, that is what we are trying to avoid.
06:32Thank you, Honorable Minister.
06:34Okay, I will now invite Tan Yong.
06:36Thank you, Honorable Minister.
06:38May peace be upon you.
06:41Thank you for the explanation by the Honorable Minister.
06:45We are all aware that the issue of cooking oil subsidies
06:50has not reached the target.
06:53There has been slander,
06:55and there has also been abuse of power by certain parties.
07:00And this issue is often voiced and becomes the mouthpiece of the netizens.
07:06Where is the loss of cooking oil subsidies?
07:10Is the Ministry considering changing the cooking oil subsidies
07:16to cash payments through MyCard?
07:20Honorable Minister.
07:25If I answer in the end,
07:28so far there has not been any,
07:31there has not yet been any,
07:33to continue to use the subsidies.
07:38However, the way we ensure that it reaches the consumers,
07:45as I said earlier,
07:47when the e-costs now reach the consumers,
07:53but when we do the Rintis 2025 project later,
07:57we will use ID,
08:00or a form of ID,
08:02maybe we are in the process of voting
08:05to get a co-operative agency,
08:08so that we can ensure that this is really the citizens
08:12who can use and get the subsidies.
08:16This is what we mean when we want to help the consumers.
08:23Regarding the slander and so on,
08:27Honorable Minister,
08:28if you allow me to address the issue a little.
08:30We have no compromise.
08:33If there are parties who misuse the quota that we give them,
08:38we take action immediately.
08:40Either we don't depend on the quota,
08:43or we withdraw the quota.
08:45I want to inform you that in 2024,
08:48we have depended on 16 companies,
08:51and we withdrew the quota from 30 companies
08:54that misused the trust that was given to them.
09:00So, this is an action that we take seriously,
09:05and we have no compromise.