YANG di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has called on the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to do more to protect the well-being of the people, especially in issues involving food security and cost of living.

The king said efforts needed to be increased to curb a small group of traders from raking unreasonable profits, which could impact inflation.

“Efforts to protect the people from fraud, halal issues and those related to weights and measurements, including investigating all public complaints, must be intensified,” the king said in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

The king said action to combat misappropriation and smuggling of controlled goods as well as subsidised items needed to be given attention, in addition to the ministry also continuing to find opportunities to increase contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP).

He added that the well-being of the people and efforts to maintain domestic economic growth should continue to be strengthened.

Al-Sultan Abdullah said the ministry’s enforcement division had been dedicated to ensuring the sufficient supply of food and basic needs in the market, while its involvement in the special task force on jihad against inflation at present also contributed to the stability of the prices of essential goods.

“When the country was dealing with Covid-19, many do not know that this enforcement division also played a role in safeguarding the well-being of the people.

“They have been in the field every day to ensure compliance with the law in the trade and distribution sector,” he said. – Bernama, August 25, 2022.