THE ban on the purchase of subsidized packet cooking oil by foreigners will be enforced starting March 1.
Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), Datuk Armizan Mohd. Ali said that KPDN will first gazette the regulation.
"KPDN will gazette these regulations through the provisions of the Supply Control Regulations which will be enacted under the authority of Section 6, Supply Control Act 1961.
“We are in discussions with the Attorney General’s Chambers and we will enforce the ban through the enactment of the law on March 1, 2026,” he said when answering a supplementary question from Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
Meanwhile, Armizan said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has not set a quota for the purchase of subsidized packet cooking oil by citizens in the context of households.
According to him, the calculation of the quota is based on the consumption of 1.5 kilograms per capita and it is a maximum limit for each transaction.
“If a household needs more, we do not limit its children, wives, fathers to buy. We are not at this stage setting a quota based on households. So, there is no issue arising if there is additional need,” he said.
Answering Abdul Latiff’s original question, he said that the Cooking Oil Price Stabilization System (eCOSS) records sales and purchase transactions digitally throughout the entire distribution chain to the end user.
According to him, the eCOSS application also enables the implementation of a ban on the purchase of subsidized packet cooking oil by foreigners through the force of law.
“Previously, there have been many calls to ban purchases by foreigners, but retailers have raised practical aspects, namely the mechanism for implementing the ban, including monitoring and enforcement methods.
“With a system that only allows citizens to make purchases that is integrated with identity card details, it will enable retailers and enforcers to implement the ban effectively,” he said. – January 29, 2026
