KUALA LUMPUR: No decision has been made yet about the withdrawal of subsidised cooking oil, says Fuziah Salleh.
The Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister said that the proposal on the subsidy withdrawal has not even reached the Cabinet stage yet.
"The Economy Minister has announced that the subsidy will be withdrawn but I want to inform that this proposal is under the responsibility of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
"Please take note of this," she said during her winding-up speech on the debate of the Supply Bill 2025 here on Nov 20.
On the issue of leakage of subsidised cooking oil, she said that the ministry is considering mechanisms like serial numbering or batch numbering for the subsidised cooking oil packages, as proposed by Mordi Bimol (PH-Mas Gading).
However, Fuziah said it is difficult to pinpoint at which stage the subsidised cooking oil has been misused.
"We don't know if the leakages occurred at the repacker or at the wholesaler or at the retailer," she said.
During the Budget 2025 debate, a few members of parliament raised the issue of the leakage of subsidised cooking oil, which had been sold in southern Thailand and Indonesia.
Fuziah said that the current system tracks the repacker, wholesaler and retailer, and also limits the distribution areas within zones.
"For now the tracking stops at the retailer, so we need to have a system that connects to the consumers," she said.
Meanwhile, about Menu Rahmah, she said that a policy has been made to allow traders with the Special Rahmah Menu Discount Card to buy their supplies during Jualan Rahmah programmes.
She explained that the policy is to help with some hiccups with the system.
The card launched last year was supposed to allow traders to purchase goods at a discounted price in participating supermarkets, but had encountered problems with card syncing, she said.
"Six supermarkets were involved but due to the use of different systems, discount cards had problems syncing with some of these supermarkets," she said.
The card, she added, is part of the government's effort to help Menu Rahmah traders, and allow the programme to be sustainable.
Separately on the issue of petrol stations, Fuziah clarified that the price of fuel (automatic pricing mechanism) and commissions for petrol stations are under the purview of the Finance Ministry.
"Our ministry is responsible for the license of petrol stations and supply of petrol," she said.
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living ministry, she said, has been actively hearing the concerns of petrol station owners and has brought concerns about operational costs and commissions to the Finance Ministry.
