Government is prepared to extend PJKM - Rosol

MARANG: The government is prepared to extend the Jualan Keluarga Malaysia (PJKM) or the Malaysian Family Sales Programme which is supposed to end this month, said Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid.

However, he said, it would depend on the willingness of players in the retail sector, such as suppliers and supermarkets, to continue working with the government to realise it.

There have been suggestion for the programme to be extended due to the encouraging response from the public, he told reporters at the PJKM at Dataran Masjid Mak Kemas near Bukit Payong, here today.

He said since the programme was held last December, there were PJM locations where the sales reached almost RM500,000 for two days.

Meanwhile, Rosol said the ministry had provided a lorry that would be used as a mobile supermarket that would offer basic necessities at cheaper prices to consumers.

"We will take this 'mart' truck from one place to another. The first will be Johor, maybe next week," he said.

In another development, Rosol said the ministry planned to provide assistance to traders and retailers affected by the recent floods in Terengganu and Kelantan depending on their needs to help ease their burden.

"For example, I went to Tapah (Kampung Tapah in Hulu Terengganu) yesterday and there was a trader in need of a stove. So we'll give him a new stove," he added.

On claims, which been viralled on the social media, of calamari rings with a halal logo on its packet are actually made from a body part of a pig, Rosol said the matter was being investigated by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) .

"My advice to the public is that they have any doubt about some food item, immediately report it to the MDTCA by providing the exact location where it is sold and we will immediately go there to check," he added.

-- BERNAMA