‘Set ceiling price of chicken immediately’

The ceiling price should not be more than RM6.80 per kilogram, says Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government must set the ceiling price of chickens by this Friday and not in August, urged Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar today.

“The ceiling price should not be more than RM6.80 per kilogram,” said Mahfuz at a press conference in the Parliament lobby today.

He said this in response to Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek’s assurance last Friday that the government will implement the ceiling price of chickens towards the end of Ramadan.

The ceiling price will be imposed onto both the producers and retailers. For the moment, Hasan said that the price will be dictated by the factors of supply and demand in the market.

Mahfuz instead stressed that the government must take measures to control the price of chickens immediately.

“The government should identify the true culprits that are trying to manipulate prices”

“Also, government agencies like the Federal Agricultural and Marketing Authority (FAMA) should take action. It must take the role as the supplier to the retailers.”

“It must help the retailers in order to help the end consumers. Because ultimately, it is always the consumers who suffer,” he said.

Commenting on Hasan’s proposal for consumers to eat meat instead of chicken to curb the hike in price of chickens, Mahfuz said that the idea is impractical.

“This is not practical because the price of meat has also gone up,” he said.

Hasan last week had urged consumers to switch to fish or meat. In his opinion this will serve as a lesson to those taking advantage of the rising price of chickens during Aidilfitri.

Meanwhile, Kota Raja MP Siti Mariah Mahmud added that the government should be aware of the supply and demand of chickens.

“Is it because there are not enough chickens or is the price being manipulated? Because every year it is the same outcry, thus the government should have pre-empted this from happening again,” she said.