KPIs set for KPDNHEP meant to benefit Sarawakians – Minister
KUCHING: The authority given to the state to approve the licences for petroleum and diesel in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is among the initiatives by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) meant to impact the people of Sarawak.
Two other initiatives are managing subsidies on essential goods like cooking oil and flour, andthe introductionof pricecontrol mechanism for the subsidised 5kg cooking oil so that it would not go beyond RM30 per bo le.
Moreover, the ministry has standardised the prices of essential goods for Peninsular Malaysia and the region comprising Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi stated this during a special interview run in connection with his 100th day in office.
“The Prime Minister has given me three people-centric key performance indicators (KPIs). The first was the le er of exemption for the regulatory of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Sarawak, and approval le er for SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd to be a new oil company, and these are done.
“Second was to set a ceiling price for RTK test-kits for people to do self-test in preparation for the Covid-19 endemic stage. We have done this and set the price at RM19.90 (per kit) on Sept 25, 2021, but personally, I’m still not satisfied. I have asked the ministry to review the price further. So in November, we will announce the new ceiling price and it will be more affordable to the public.
“Thirdly, we have introduced affordable franchise and microfranchise (programmes) slated for the M40 and B40 (groups) so that they could be involved in the franchise business, with working capital from as low as RM50,000.
“The KPDNHEP has also asked for a grant of RM4.5 million to assist these target groups, with facilities of up to 90 per cent for those who qualify for it,” he said.
‘Community-drumming’
Nanta, who is Kapit MP, was also asked to explain the ministry’s essential goods distribution programmes, the LPG and ‘community-drumming’.
Nanta said the government had observed that the selling prices of goods in some rural and remote areas were higher than those in the urban areas due to the high marketing, distribution and transportation costs incurred by Sabah and Sarawak.
“For example, if we look at Long Unai, an area in Hulu Balui under the Hulu Rajang (parliamentary) constituency, the people there buy a packet of cooking oil at the price of RM5 per kilogramme, whereas in the urban areas like Sibu or Sarikei, the cooking oil is sold at a controlled price of RM2.50 per kilogramme.
“So, the government started this programme in 2009 and has continued running it since, to enable the people in selected rural or interior areas to buy seven basic essential goods, namely rice, sugar, cooking oil, flour, LPG, petrol and diesel, at controlled prices.
“This year, the government has allocated RM123 million, or 65 per cent of the total cost for Sarawak alone,” he pointed out.
Currently, the programme covers 112 zones in Sarawak, comprising 540 distribution areas and benefi ing 526,771 people.
Challenges brought about by pandemic
On his 100-day achievements, Nanta said it was hard to list them one by one, but he did point out KPDNHEP’s collaboration with the National Security Council (MKN) in developing the standard of procedures (SOP) for the reopening of business sectors under the purview of ministry in phases, meant to facilitate the economic recovery and at the same time, protect the consumers and the business community from Covid19; the opening of 10 vaccination centres nationwide meant to expedite the immunisation process of the retail industry frontliners, with more than 100,000 doses of the vaccine being given; and se ing the ceiling price of the three-ply face mask so that it would be more affordable to the public.
“Although the ceiling price for cooking oil in 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bo les, from palm oil, would increase government’s subsidy, we are commi ed to reducing the cost of living of the people,” he said.
Nanta did not deny that the impact of the pandemic had affected the retail industry and other sectors over the past 20 months, with many industries losing revenues, people losing their jobs and businesses being forced to close.
“The retail industry, amongst the main contributors to the domestic economy, has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges faced by the retail industry throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period over the past 20 months, were unprecedented.
“In 2020, the retail growth in Malaysia had experienced the biggest contraction since the Asian financial crisis 22 years ago – at 16.3 per cent, compared to that recorded in 2019. According to Department of Statistics, as at June 2021, the wholesale and retail performance level had fallen to -10.3 per cent, versus the same period in 2020.
“The ministry anticipates the number of job losses in the retail industry to be very minimal in comparison with other economic sectors, because certain essential retail segments were still allowed to operate during MCO period,” he said.
However, Nanta also pointed out that the KPDNHEP was still assessing the number of businesses being forced to close down due to the pandemic.
Going forward
On a more positive note, Nanta said the ministry was preparing strategic plans focusing on reviving, rejuvenating and expediting the recovery of the retail industry during the National Recovery Plan (NRP) phase.
In this regard, it would reinitiate ‘Program Jualan Malaysia’ (Malaysian Sale Programme) to stimulate consumer’s demand, he added.
“The programme will be a platform that allows retailers to a ract consumers by offering a ractive sales and promotions throughout the year. For 2022, the ministry is planning thematic sale promotional period base on major festivals,” said Nanta.
The ministry, he said, had also initiated the ‘Retail Digitalisation Programme’(REDI) for small and medium retailers, especially those in the rural areas, to promote digitalisation as a safe and efficient way of doing business.
Nanta pointed out that under this programme, his ministry had targeted to bring on board 100 small and medium retailers in the rural areas within his 100 days in office.
“I believe with more relaxation announced by the government as our vaccination rate has reached one of the highest in the world and people’s mobility is returning to normal, consumer spending should also recover gradually. Malaysia’s domestic consumption is very strong, and consumer spending is very important.
“The ministry always monitors the situation and we expect consumer spending to increase in the coming months,” he added.
Nanta also said e-commerce in Malaysia, similar to that in other countries, had been recording impressive growth – no doubt, due to the pandemic.
As at last year, e-commerce in Malaysia recorded 32.7 per cent increase in sales, equivalent to RM896.4 billion, over the figure registered in 2019.
“This is very impressive,” said the minister.
When asked about enforcement, Nanta said the KPDNHEP had been beefing up the existing regulatory policies and regulations to ensure the protection of consumers whenever they conducted online transactions.
It also would hold engagement sessions to review existing consumer protection regulation (namely, the Electronic Trade Transaction 2012) to enhance consumer protection and at the same time, encourage the development of e-commerce, he added.
Asked about how he felt a er being reappointed as the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs under the administrationof new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Nanta said he was ‘thankful, comfortable and excited’.
“Thankful, because I have been given the trust by the Prime Ministerand leadership of Sarawak to continue contributing to the people and the nation.
“Comfortable, because I know the industry, I know the officers and I know my colleagues in the Cabinet. I was already excited to deliver and was able to finish things before the change of the government,” he said.
For the record, Nanta has helped the state government and ease the business for KPDNHEP by issuing a le er of exemption for the regulatory of LPG in Sarawak, and also an approval le er for SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd to be the new oil company in Sarawak
He has also ensured the reopening of more businesses within the ambit of KPDNHEP so that people would be able to get back to their jobs and entrepreneurs back to their operations,and also the nation’s economy could be revived.