Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has maintained the quota of 60,000 tonnes of subsidised packaged cooking oil per month in the market.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Deputy Minister Dr Fuziah Salleh stated that this decision was based on data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia in 2022. The data indicated that the monthly usage of packaged cooking oil for 80 per cent of the 7.9 million households was 30.3 million tonnes, while the micro-industry sector used 21,280 tonnes per month. Dr Fuziah assured that the 60,000 tonnes of packaged cooking oil is sufficient for distribution to both households and the micro-industry sector.

During a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat, Dr Fuziah was asked by Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) about the subsidy amount spent on the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (eCOss) in 2024 and whether KPDN was prepared to increase the quota of subsidised packaged cooking oil in the retail market. She revealed that the government has allocated RM1.945 billion for the cooking oil price stabilisation scheme, with RM845 million in Budget 2024 and RM1.1 billion in a supplementary bill.

Dr Fuziah also mentioned that KPDN, in collaboration with relevant agencies, is negotiating to develop a pilot project this year. This project aims to allow consumers to purchase packaged cooking oil using an ID system to identify eligible Malaysian citizens and reduce leakage issues. This response was to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (PN-Tanjong Karang) on whether KPDN was prepared to provide cooking oil subsidies directly through MyKad.

Additionally, Dr Fuziah noted that KPDN has suspended the quotas for 16 subsidised cooking oil packaging companies and revoked the quotas for 30 other packaging companies in 2024 due to violations and breaches of the quota holder's conditions.