KOTA BARU: The government continues to take care of the people's well-being, and this was proven with the RM200 million in monthly subsidies for chicken and eggs, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub.
"The government yesterday decided to maintain the subsidies for chicken and eggs after a meeting was held between my ministry and the Finance Ministry. The people need this assistance as many are facing financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living."Therefore to show that we (the government) are concerned about their issues, we decided to continue with the subsidies," he said at a press conference after launching the Retail Digitalisation initiative and Menu Rahmah at the Siti Khadijah wet market here, today.
Also present were Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh and the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof.
It was reported yesterday that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had agreed that the subsidies and price control for chicken and eggs should be maintained.
The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, as well as the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, had said in a joint statement that the decision was made after taking into account all aspects, including the sustainability of the poultry industry.
"The decision to continue providing subsidies and to control the price of chicken and eggs was made to ensure the welfare of the people in line with the aspirations of the Malaysia Madani government," said the statement from both ministries yesterday.