Ministry steps up enforcement, app use to improve subsidised oil supply

KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic trade and cost of living ministry has intensified enforcement and increased the use of a mobile app to ensure sufficient supply of subsidised 1kg cooking oil in Sabah, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Minister Armizan Mohd Ali said the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation System (eCOSS) app, introduced in 2023 to track the supply chain of subsidised cooking oil, had helped the government monitor the product’s availability in real time.

“Sales of the subsidised 1kg cooking oil are logged in the app, providing an overview of its availability in Sabah, enabling the ministry to supervise its distribution to areas facing shortages,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

Armizan also revealed that the number of eCOSS users had increased by 784%, with 495,000 registered users as of June 18, 2026, compared with just 56,000 in May last year.

He was responding to Siti Aminah Aching (BN-Beaufort), who sought an explanation for the shortage of subsidised cooking oil in Sabah despite the introduction of eCOSS.

Armizan said that between January last year and June 2026, only 15 complaints about a shortage of subsidised cooking oil were recorded in Sabah, accounting for just 6% of the 270 complaints received nationwide.

He explained that there was a temporary supply shortage in Sabah last year because several packaging companies ceased operations after failing to obtain valid halal certification.

However, the issue was resolved progressively during the year, with supplies returning to normal from January this year after all the affected companies met the halal certification requirements, he said.

Armizan also said many packaging and refining plants are concentrated on Sabah’s east coast, including in Sandakan, Semporna, Lahad Datu and Tawau, resulting in supplies being more concentrated in these districts.

To address the imbalance, the ministry introduced a zoning mechanism last year to ensure that all refining and packaging plants distributed subsidised cooking oil to every district in Sabah, rather than only to those on the east coast.