KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plan to increase the quota for subsidised cooking oil, which has been fixed at 60,000 tonnes a month.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the government, however, is in the process of developing a mechanism to ensure that subsidised cooking oil is only available to consumers who are eligible to buy the item at retail level.
"At the moment, the government has agreed for the quota for the packet subsidised cooking oil to be fixed at 60,000 tonnes a month after taking into consideration our financial capability to fund the subsidy programme.
"Based on our calculation, the present quota for subsidised cooking oil should be sufficient to meet the demands of people residing in Malaysia.
"Generally, subsidised items are for meeting the demands of the people in the country. The government, as a whole, is concerned on issues related to leakages," said Armizan, in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat, that was published on Parliament's website last night (March 7).
He was responding to a question by Wan Razali Wan Noor (Perikatan Nasional - Kuantan) who asked Armizan to state if the ministry has any plans to increase the quota for the subsidised cooking oil since the item is also available to foreigners as well.
Earlier this year, Armizan was quoted as saying that there are no restrictions on foreigners from buying subsidised cooking oil packets.
He nevertheless stressed that, similar to Malaysians, foreigners are still subjected to the same purchase limits.
The ban to prevent foreigners in the country from buying subsidised goods has not been implemented although he acknowledged that his ministry has received suggestions on the matter.
