THE government will impose a ceiling price scheme under the movement-control order (MCO) from tomorrow till April 28, said Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The senior minister said this will ensure the prices of 12 essentials, such as chicken, eggs, cooking oil, wheat flour and kembong fish, are under control.

“Details of the mechanism of the MCO maximum price scheme will be announced by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

“The government takes heed of the people’s complaints about some unscrupulous traders who have raised the prices of essential goods,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He stressed that there is a sufficient supply of food and other essentials, so people need not panic-buy.

Ministry enforcement personnel yesterday inspected 1,133 business premises, comprising 844 retailers, 260 wholesalers and 29 manufacturers, he added.

On standard operating procedures for Ramadan e-bazaars, where customers place orders for food and pay online, and get their purchases delivered, Ismail Sabri said the matter will be discussed at a cabinet meeting tomorrow.

“If the buyer orders food and has to go out of the house to collect it, this will cause mass movement. Tomorrow, we will raise this point at the cabinet meeting. We will decide on the dos and don’ts.

“The idea is so that people don’t go out. We don’t want people to start giving excuses, like going out to pick up food, when they’re stopped at roadblocks.” – Bernama, April 14, 2020.