Face mask ceiling price set at RM1.20 beginning Aug 15

The ceiling price for face masks will be reduced to RM1.20 from RM1.50 per unit beginning Aug 15, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi.

He said the wholesale price for the product would also be reduced from the current RM1.45 per unit to RM1.15 from the same date.

Nanta said the rationale behind the price reduction was in line with the government's plan to consider compulsory use of face mask in public areas, as announced by the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

"Based on the ministry's surveillance and monitoring, face mask production and distribution is sufficient and supported by import. So, there is no supply issue," he said during question time at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Nanta was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim (GPS-Batang Lupar) on the rationale behind face mask price reduction.

On July 20, Muhyiddin in his special message on the latest development of the Recovery Movement Control Order said the government was mulling the possibility of making it compulsory to use a face mask in public places as COVID-19 threats still persists.

-- BERNAMA