THE government must subsidise the price of cooking oil so that the people are not impacted by the increase in price, said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

“If this cannot be made a permanent policy due to cost constraints, then the government can implement it as a ‘one-off’,” he said.

“This measure will immediately lower the prices of cooking oil to a level that does not burden the people,” said the former minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs.

He also suggested the government introduce two-tier pricing for crude palm oil.

“For export, the price of palm oil is sold according to the market price. Meanwhile, the government can introduce lower prices for the domestic market of making cooking oil,” he said in a statement.

He said this will reduce the price of cooking oil.

“Not only will the price of cooking oil without subsidies be cheap but the subsidy will also be reduced.

“I think this proposal is reasonable given that only 1 million tonnes of crude palm oil is used for this purpose, compared to more than 20 million for export, providing lucrative income to this RM70 billion industry,” he said.

Saifuddin disagreed with the government’s statement that the increase in cooking oil price was reasonable.

He said that an increase of more than 100% compared to prices in December 2019 was unreasonable and the government must take immediate action. 

Yesterday, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali was reported to have said that the current market price of RM30 for a 5kg bottle of cooking oil was reasonable given the high price of refined palm oil at the moment.

He said the average price of crude palm oil, which is between RM4,000 and RM4,500 a tonne, has driven the price of refined palm oil up to around RM5,000 a tonne, and this in turn increased the price of cooking oil at factory level to about RM4.50-RM5/kg.

However, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Rosol Wahid said consumers will have the option of buying cheaper cooking oil packed in polybags if bottled cooking oil prices increase.

He said cooking oil in 1kg polybag packages, subsidised by the government under the cooking oil price stabilisation scheme programme, can be found at all sales outlets including supermarkets and grocery stores.

Saifuddin also said that the government can adopt the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act by introducing a price ceiling aimed at preventing the continued rise in cooking oil prices.

“I urge the government to act immediately to make the right decision to address the increase in cooking oil prices, which have reached a level that is very burdensome for the people.”

Saifuddin said that there were growing concerns about the B40 and M40 groups, which are most affected by the pandemic.

“Unemployment has affected the purchasing power of these groups, because as much as 40% of their monthly income will be spent on buying food.

“Thus, when the price of goods increases the pressure experienced by this group is heavier. That is why the increase in cooking oil prices, for example, needs to be addressed.”

He said that Malaysia was one of the world’s largest exporters of crude palm oil. 

“Of the 1 million tonnes we use, subsidised cooking oil accounts for 0.7 million tonnes, the remaining 0.3 million tonnes is unsubsidised.”

Saifuddin added that subsidised cooking oil was easily recognisable on the shelves, a 1kg plastic package with a fixed price of RM2.50.

“The government finances the subsidy cost of RM400 million a year. Cooking oil in 1kg or 5kg bottles or other than 1kg plastic packaging is not subsidised.

“It is this cooking oil that is witnessing an extraordinary increase in prices now, which is causing unrest and anger among the people.” – June 9, 2021.