PUTRAJAYA will be auditing 22 cooking oil producers and 305 cooking oil repackaging premises nationwide to ensure they are not involved in smuggling, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

He said the comprehensive operation will be conducted by the National Action Council on Cost of Living with the help of enforcement agencies.

In a statement, he said that the operation will ensure the RM4 billion being spent on subsidising cooking oil sold in polybags is reaching consumers.

He said this would include a joint raid by authorities.

“The government has deployed enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, police, and armed forces to raid (any related party) from packaging factories to national borders to ensure no irregularities.

“This measure is to ensure that the cooking oil subsidy of RM4 billion channelled this year to reduce the burden of Malaysians does not leak from any stage of the supply chain and reaches consumers,” he said in a statement.

He said the operation is also aimed at obtaining the actual status of the number of cooking oil packages produced by production and packaging companies, as well as complete information on recipients of subsidised cooking oil.

The prime minister said strict action, including revoking quotas and licences, would be enforced if factories are found to be involved in leakages of subsidised cooking oil.

Subsidies for bottled cooking oil in 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottles ended on July 1.

Ismail said current statistics show that 60,000 metric tonnes of cooking oil sold in 1kg polybags are being distributed a month, adding that this is more than the amount being used by households in Malaysia. – July 4, 2022.