KUCHING: The frequent occurrences of the smuggling of subsidised goods that make their way from Sarawak to Indonesia remain a concern.
Government initiatives applied to many goods has made it profitable to obtain subsidised goods here and then later smuggle it into Indonesia.
Thus, this has prompted the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) to intensify its initiatives and efforts to tackle the problem.
The matter was disclosed by KPDNHEP enforcement division director Datuk Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, who said the goods were smuggled out due to lucrative earnings with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, packet cooking oil and all-purpose flour being among the most popular.
Iskandar explained that the price of subsidised goods, when compared with the ones from the neighbouring country, differs significantly whereby in Indonesia one unit of LPG cylinder costs between RM60 and RM70 as compared to the price here which is below RM30 per cylinder.
According to him, the goods were smuggled through illegal routes at the borders, with Serikin and Tebedu recording the highest cases apart from Limbang and Bintulu.
“As of 2019, a total of 106 investigation papers have been opened pertaining to the smuggling of subsidised goods and seizures worth RM2.3 million,” he said in a press conference prior to chairing the Coordination of Subsidised Goods Enforcement Action Meeting at the state KPDNHEP office yesterday.
Meanwhile, KPDNHEP does not rule out the possibility of syndicates involved in the smuggling of subsidised goods. However, most of the smuggling activities were carried out by individuals as their source of income.
As of now, three individuals have been sentenced to jail — two of them serving six months while another will serve 18 months for smuggling subsidised goods in the state.
“KPDNHEP will review our standard operating procedure (SOP) so that all perpetrators of smuggled goods are prosecuted in court and sentenced to prison.
“This is because they (offenders) are not intimidated by the compound penalties and fines that have been set,” he added.
