7 minutes
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is expanding the Food Bank Malaysia initiative to the state next year for the benefit of the less affordable people, said the ministry’s director, Georgie Abas.
To ensure its success, he called for cooperation from hyper supermarkets and restaurant operators in the state to contribute their excess food supply or those nearing the expiry date for the cause.
“Instead of disposing them (food supply) away, it is better that we collect them and distribute them to the less fortunate people.
“In the peninsula, there are many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) doing this, but in Sabah, there is none yet, and the ministry is drawing up plans on how to make it work,“ he told reporters after launching the Sabah-level Christmas Festival Price Control Scheme today.
The Food Bank Malaysia initiative is carried out by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry on a voluntary basis without any major financial commitment by the government with the aim of reducing the cost of living for local consumers, especially those in the B40 group.
The initiative, which is also aimed at reducing food wastage among Malaysians, was launched in Penang by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who represented Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, yesterday.
Georgie reminded the people to be prudent in their spending and avoid wastage.
On the price control scheme, he said it would involve 15 items, such as live chicken, standard chicken; super chicken; live aged chicken; imported turkey; chicken wings; egg; tomato; green capsicum; pig and pork.
He advised traders to abide by the stipulated ceiling price of the affected items during the Christmas festival from today until Dec 27. — Bernama
