Mamak restaurant operators in Johor are facing legal action and stern warnings from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) after planning to increase food prices by 5% starting early next year.
KPDN Minister, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, has issued a notice to the Johor Indian Muslim Businessmen's Association under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 to obtain a full explanation on the proposed price increase.
Armizan stressed that the ministry is actively monitoring any unjustified price increases to protect consumers.
The proposed increase sparked concern among more than 300 mamak restaurant operators in Johor, who pointed to increased operating costs and the implementation of the minimum wage next year as the main factors.
This is not the first time that KPDN has faced the issue of suspicious price increases.
In the latest operation, OPS Kesan 2.0, the ministry called several companies that blamed subsidies and new taxes as the reason for price increases, but found
KPDN is determined to ensure that price increases only occur for reasonable reasons and are guided by actual cost increases, in order to protect the interests of consumers.
