PETALING JAYA: The domestic trade and cost of living ministry has dismissed as false a claim by Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin that whole chickens were being sold for up to RM16.50 per kg in the state.
Deputy minister Fuziah Salleh said checks by ministry officers on 142 premises in Sabah showed otherwise.
She said super grade chicken was sold at RM14 per kg at the Sandakan central market and Chan Sui Teck supermarket, while the highest price for standard chicken was RM13.29 per kg at the Parkwell department store.
“Therefore, claims that the price of chicken in Sabah had reached RM16.50 are untrue,” she told FMT.
Bung had issued a statement this morning critical of the state government. He said chicken prices in Sabah were exorbitantly higher compared with West Malaysia, where chicken is sold at about RM7 to RM9 per kg.
The Sabah Barisan Nasional chief urged the state government to take concrete measures to bring prices down, saying it was burdening Sabahans.
Fuziah said her ministry will continue to survey prices to curb profiteering, warning traders of stern action if they raise their prices without reason.
