IT is the government and not the private sector who should determine the prices of food, Umno Youth chairman Akmal Saleh said, urging Putrajaya to take control of soaring inflation.

He said the time has come for the prices of basic food items, such as rice, flour, cooking oil and sugar, to be fully controlled by the government.

“The government needs to make the decisions, not have the decisions made for it (by the private sector),” he said on Facebook.

The Merlimau assemblyman was responding to a news report on the price hikes of Gardenia products.

On Wednesday, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister sent a show cause letter to Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd regarding its decision to raise the prices of some of its products starting tomorrow.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said Gardenia had six days to explain the price increases.

Gardenia had announced that some of its products would cost 10-40 sen more. The affected products are Puazz Sambal Bilis, Sambal Mackerel and Chicken Curry, Quick Bites Butter Toffee and Red Beans, Quick Bites Cream Rolls, Numee Yellow Noodle, and Numee Keluarga. – September 30, 2023.