PAGOH: The Jualan Prihatin Rakyat is expected to be expanded nationwide as a short-term solution to help people cope with the rising cost of living, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman said the programme sold daily necessities such as rice, chicken, and eggs to the public at a discounted rate.
"For RM20, they can get a 5kg bag of rice, a tray of eggs and chicken through the Jualan Prihatin Rakyat programme that began in August.
"Our target market is those in the B40 and B60 category, which have increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic," he said when met by reporters after attending the Jualan Prihatin Rakyat at Bukit Pasir, here, on Saturday (Sept 10).
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, said this was the third time the programme had been held in Pagoh due to the positive feedback from the people.
"The programme is conducted once every weekend and we are hoping to partner up with other corporate entities or hypermarkets that wish to make this programme part of their corporate social responsibility.
"By partnering with hypermarkets, those eligible could come to any store near them and buy what they need at a discounted price," he said, adding that this could also be done in lower-income community areas.
He also said that recovering the economy should not be focused solely on reviving industry but also on the welfare of the people in general.
"The government should be more proactive in its approach to addressing the high cost of living and should make it their main agenda to be addressed.
"This is one of the issues that will take a long time to be dealt with, but in the meantime, we could also introduce a short and middle-term approach," he said.
