PETALING JAYA: Consumers can rest assured that essential items are in steady supply, with the authorities going down to the ground to ensure everything is in order.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry swooped into action at various locations nationwide to check on essential consumer items like cooking oil at supermarkets.
The checks to monitor the supply and pricing of consumer goods, as well as the compliance of movement control order standard operating procedures (SOP) were done in states like Selangor, Perlis and Sarawak.
Several videos on the ministry’s enforcement division Facebook page showed enforcement officers checking items sold at grocery stores and supermarkets.
“Supply is adequate and stable in the market,” read the caption of one of the videos, featuring the ministry’s Perlis enforcement team.
In another video, enforcement officers spoke to consumers who expressed that there is no need to resort to panic buying as there is sufficient supply of food items for sale.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali also went to the ground himself to ensure all SOPs are adhered to by conducting a snap check on a furniture factory in Olak Lempit, Banting, Selangor on Thursday (June 17).
It was reported that crowds of consumers flocked to supermarkets in a panic buying spree, after the Prime Minister announced on May 28 that a nationwide lockdown will be in effect from June 1 to 14..
On Monday (June 14), similar reports also emerged about long queues outside supermarkets in Labuan as parts of the island were scheduled to go into lockdown the next day.
Many customers were said to buy excessive amounts of rice, sugar and cooking oil, among other essential items.
