KUALA LUMPUR: Middlemen hoarding flour are in for a nasty shock.
If they do not supply their
customers, restaurant owners can call the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners' Association at 03-2697 0950 to get supply from elsewhere.
And the middlemen could be left holding the baby with no takers.
With millers in the country being told to increase their production, there should be no shortage, said association president Datuk R. Ramalingam Pillai after meeting Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie
Apdal.
“The ministry is also mounting checks on whether middlemen are hoarding and hoping to increase the price.
“Wholesalers are charging between RM5 and RM15 more than the price-controlled rate of RM33.60 for the 25kg bag of flour. This is more common in small towns,” he said.
He thanked Shafie for responding speedily and ensuring more flour supply in the market.
Up north, however, there seems to be enough supply to go around.
Malaysian Islamic Restaurant Operators Association president K.K. Sihabutheen said there was no shortage of flour at nasi kandar restaurants in Penang, Kedah and Perlis.
“We are still getting our regular wheat flour supply from the wholesalers. And, we are still selling roti canai at only 80 sen per piece,” he said in an interview yesterday.
State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry enforcement unit chief M. Gunaselan said there was no major shortage of flour supply in Penang.
“Consumers too should not rush to stock up flour for fear of a shortage or price increase,” he said.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohd Idris said the Government should cap all brands of flour at the controlled price of RM1.35.
He noted that although the price of roti canai had not increased in many restaurants, its weight and size had shrunk.
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