Maintain chicken ceiling price, bottled cooking oil subsidies, says PH

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan has urged Putrajaya to maintain the current ceiling prices for chicken and eggs and subsidies for bottled cooking oil, describing the removal of these measures as “half-baked and hasty”.

PH’s cost of living committee urged the government to review the removals of the ceiling prices and subsidies from July 1, warning that they would further increase the inflation rate and burden the people.

It also called for additional subsidies to be given to chicken farmers and traders according to the situation, to ensure a constant supply of the products.

In a statement today, the committee said subsidies for gas cylinders and RON95 petrol must remain, and agreed with the government’s move not to raise water and electricity tariffs.

It also called on PH’s presidential council and Malaysians to launch large-scale protests nationwide over the government’s failure to address the rising cost of living.

The government will cease subsidising bottled cooking oil (2kg, 3kg and 5kg) starting July 1, but cooking oil sold in 1kg polybags would continue to be subsidised.

A new ceiling price for chicken will be announced soon, though there will no longer be one for eggs from July 1.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced an increase in the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) cash aid in view of the rising cost of goods.

PH suggested that Putrajaya use its revenue from the one-off “prosperity tax” to help the people, while postponing mega projects like the Mass Rapid Transit 3 (MRT3) Circle Line, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

“We also suggest a review of the allowances of CEOs and board members of government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs),” it said.

The PH committee also suggested Ismail downsize his Cabinet or cut the ministers’ allowances, and to do away with the special envoys to the Middle East, China, East Asia and South Asia.