KUALA LUMPUR: The government loses RM540 million a year as unscrupulous people are selling subsidised cooking oil outside the country.
Local dailies reported that the nation only consumes 40,000 metric tonnes of the price controlled item but there is an excess of 45,000 metric tonnes that are unaccounted for since the government subsidised up to 85,000 metric tonnes each month. As the government pays RM1,000 for one metric tonne, it is paying an excess to RM45 million a month and RM540 million a year.
Today, local dailies confirmed that cooking oil is being smuggled and sold across Malaysian borders at a much higher price, where the sellers benefit from the low price they bought the cooking oil at due to government subsidies.
According to a source, cooking oil is being sold in Kalimantan at almost twice the selling price at RM4.80 (Rp15,000) per kilogram compared to RM2.50 per kilogram in the local market , allowing them to make almost 100% profit from the sales. “This is driven by high demand because the price of the smuggled item is much cheaper compared to the cooking oil produced by their own country,” the source said.
He added that smuggling is helped by the existence of many smugglers routes along the border of the neighbouring states.
However, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has stepped up their monitoring along the Sabah borders to crack down on the smuggling of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and subsidised items, which is confirmed by the report Indonesian news portal, Kompas.com.
“Apart from incurring losses to the country, smuggling activities, whether leaving or entering the country, can bring threats to national safety.
“The police have never compromised when carrying out enforcement not only on land but at sea as well,” Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said.
