Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob
has denied that household products sold under the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia
(KR1M) brand are more expensive compared to similar products sold at
hypermarkets.
He said the opposition’s allegations on the matter were baseless, saying
comparisons should be made “aple-to-apple”.
“Any comparison should be as a whole taking into consideration weight,
packaging and most importantly quality,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur
today.
He was commenting on claims by DAP national publicity chief Tony Pua that a
price comparison showed there was little difference in prices of household
items sold at KR1M outlets and at Carrefour hypermarkets and that some of
the items were in fact much cheaper at Carrefour.
Ismail Sabri stressed that from the beginning, his ministry had fixed the
prices of KR1M products to between 30 and 50 percent lower than their
branded counterparts but not products sold under house brands like in
Carrefour.
He said the opposition was trying to mislead the people by making unfair
comparisons in terms of contents (weight and volume), nutritional
information besides promotions that were held.
On escalating prices of essential items as a result of the flood disaster
in Thailand, Ismail Sabri said his ministry was monitoring the situation
closely to ensure consumers’ interests were protected.
“Right now, my ministry is waiting for feedback on the prices of imported
items like vegetables, fish and other food products from the Agriculture
and Agro-based Industries Ministry as such matters come under their
purview,” he said.
– Bernama
CJMY
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