ALOR STAR – The Consumers’ Association of Kedah (CAKE) hopes that the state government can carry out monitoring of online gambling activities which are believed to be rampant following the complete closure of all gambling and lottery premises in the state starting yesterday.
Its president, Mohamad Yusrizal Yusoff, said that previously, CAKE had received many reports from penghulu and village representatives regarding online gambling activities taking place in their areas.
“Congratulations to the Kedah government for successfully closing down gambling and lottery premises by not renewing their gambling licences. CAKE hopes that the authorities can further tighten the law, especially against online gambling.
“In addition, the association also hopes that the state government can reduce the liquor sales licence to limit the sale of alcohol that is widely sold in ordinary shops. This method can at least reduce the accident rate due to some people drunk driving,” he said.
Yesterday, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor announced the end of operation of all gambling and lottery premises in Kedah when the state government decided not to renew the gambling licence which expired on December 31, 2022.
Earlier, Yusrizal conducted a price and supply survey of essential items such as chicken, fish, vegetables, eggs, and packet cooking oil at Pasar Besar Alor Star, here today.
In the meantime, he urged the federal government to act swiftly to ensure the supply of essential goods including eggs and packet cooking oil is sufficient ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations.
“There is a concern of inadequate supply as consumers are still looking for these items. Although the supply of eggs in supermarkets has recovered, the supply in retail stores is still occurring and it can be seen during this school holiday season which has a high demand for eggs.
“It’s not just the supply of eggs, packet cooking oil is also difficult to find and this issue has been going on for a long time and until now there is still no solution in sight,” he said.
A trader at the Pasar Besar, Milatul Shamsul Mohd Fauzi, 36, said that traders still find it difficult to get a supply of eggs and cooking oil packets while the limited amount also causes the essential items to be sold out in a short period of time causing customers to complain. – Bernama, January 2, 2023
