KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 11 food items will be gazetted under Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme (SHMMP) during the Christmas festive season beginning this Friday (Dec 23).
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said SHMMP would be enforced for five days until Dec 27.
"The implementation of SHMMP for the Christmas season follows the current environment, creating a win-win situation for both consumers and traders.
"At the same, the prices for chicken and chicken eggs will be monitored under the implementation of chicken and eggs price checks," Salahuddin told reporters at the Parliament media room.
The items listed under SHMMP for Christmas season 2022 are live spent chicken (ayam tua hidup) which are under price control in Sarawak, chicken wings under price control in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, imported mutton bone, tomatoes, green Benggala pepper, imported round cabbages from China and Indonesia, carrot, imported potatoes from China, live boar (controlled at the farm level), as well as pork belly, pork fat and meat.
Salahuddin hoped traders would continue to comply with the price control scheme and use a pink label for the food items placed under SHMMP.
Traders found guilty of increasing the prices of 11 controlled items for no valid reason, or failing to display price tags on items, he said, will face stern action under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
"Individuals selling items above their ceiling price could be fined up to RM100,000, or jailed for not more than three years, or both; or pay a compound of up to RM50,000.
"Companies, meanwhile, could be fined up to RM500,000 or pay a compound of up to RM250,000.
"For failing to display the pink price tag on controlled goods, individuals can be fined up to RM10,000 or issued a compound of up to RM5,000, and companies can be fined up to RM20,000 or pay a compound of up to RM10,000," he said.
On a separate matter related to the flood season, Salahuddin said his ministry would be mobilising a food bank team wherever there was a need for it especially at flood stricken areas.
Without listing the places, he said the team would be communicating with relevant authorities and non-government organisations (NGOs) to provide ready to eat meals for the victims and to prevent oversupply of food to one area.
