Johor first state to launch cooking oil subsidy sales via eCOSS app
State Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources Committee chairman Lee Ting Han said the eCOSS (Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme) app records each 1kg subsidised cooking oil packet transaction, from manufacturers, packagers, wholesalers, and retailers, down to final consumer purchases.
The pilot programme, previously tested under the Madani Rahmah Sales initiative, is now extended to participating supermarkets, with purchases limited to three packets per transaction to prevent leakages and ensure supplies reach eligible Malaysians.
"To ensure a smooth implementation, Johor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry officers will be stationed at all 29 outlets between Aug 11 to 15 to assist with registration, app usage, and conduct 'training of trainers' sessions for shoppers and supermarket staff," Lee said after launching the initiative at the Maslee B5 Supermarket today.
The federal government allocates 3.3 million subsidised packets monthly to Johor, with RM5 per packet borne by the government. Supplies will be replenished regularly by 19 packaging and wholesale firms to guarantee availability, particularly for B40 households.
Lee said the system would strengthen supply chain monitoring and address past complaints of shortages in certain areas.
"If it proceeds smoothly, eCOSS will be expanded to other locations," he said.
The eCOSS app is available for download on Google Play and the App Store.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Muted growth likely in 2H25
PETALING JAYA: China's response to the final tariff rate imposed by the United States could have a profound impact on the Malaysian economy. With the outcome of tariff talks between the two countries now delayed for another three months, the fear now, according to Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) executive director Lee Heng Guie, is that Beijing will take aggressive measures to maintain its market share in the United States. This may entail price dumping and undercutting, which would put pressure on Malaysia's exports. 'If China ends up with a tariff structure similar to countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia – around 19% to 20% – the competition will be even tougher for Malaysia. 'Even if the tariff imposed by the United States on China is higher, it also depends on how high, because even before tariffs, China has been very competitive in most markets,' Lee said during SERC's Malaysia Quarterly Economy Tracker (April to June) 2025 media briefing yesterday titled 'The Future Ahead: Malaysia in a Changing Landscape'. Lee noted that Chinese exporters have economies of scale and government support in the form of subsidies, export rebates and other incentives. 'This allows them to undercut prices in a bid to gain more market share in the United States,' he said. Lee added China could also engage in price wars to sell its products in other markets to help offset its lower sales in the US market, should it end up securing a relatively higher tariff from Washington. China's economy still remains challenging looking ahead and is projected to slow further in the second half of 2025 (2H25), Lee said, as the trade tariff impact continues and weakening consumer sentiment amid lingering risks in the property sector. On Monday, the Trump administration extended its tariff truce with China for another 90 days to Nov 10. This move keeps US tariffs on Chinese imports at 30%, while Chinese duties on US goods remain at 10%. Without the extension, Chinese imports into the United States would have faced tariffs of 145%, while US goods entering China would have been hit with a 125% rate. These tariffs were set to resume on Tuesday. SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the tariff truce 'isn't peace, it's halftime'. 'The scoreboard hasn't changed much, but both sides are in the locker room drawing up plays for the next quarter. The sledgehammer hasn't been put back in the closet – it's just leaning against the wall, waiting for November,' he said in a statement. Lee stressed that halting trade with the United States is not feasible and reduced exports to this key market would directly impact Malaysia's overall export performance. This is given that the United States is Malaysia's third-largest trading partner, accounting for 11.3% of the country's total trade in 2024. It is also Malaysia's second-largest export destination and one of the top-five sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). 'The tariff on local furniture exports, for instance, was 0% previously, but now it has been raised to 19%. Manufacturers may not be able to adjust immediately and this will affect their profit margins and overall profitability. 'However, they have to find ways to mitigate the impact by improving their costs and efficiency,' he said. Lee said the country's exports are expected to remain weak in 2H25 and 2026 due to the impact of the US sweeping tariffs on the global economy and trade flows. Malaysia's export performance has been on the decline in the last two months. 'Exports remain in cautious territory, with a growth of 3.8% in the first six months of the year. For the full year, exports are expected to decline significantly and could even register a slight contraction. 'Exports' 'front-loading' effects are expected to fade in 2H25,' he said. On the whole, Lee said Malaysia is expected to sustain 'moderate growth' in 2H25 and 2026, in line with the global trend. This is underpinned by private consumption and investment amid weak exports due to the impact of the US tariffs on exports. 'We remain positive on private investment with ongoing initiatives like the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, National Energy Transition Roadmap, National Semiconductor Strategy and the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026-2030). 'There have been a lot of approved investments over the past two to three years and this should help support private investment activity, going forward,' he said. In 2024, Malaysia recorded RM379bil of approved investments, comprising RM170.4bil in foreign investments and RM208.1bil in domestic investments. In the first quarter of 2025, total approved investments stood at RM90bil, of which RM60.4bil were foreign and RM29.4bil were domestic investments. On whether he expects FDI to slow this year, Lee described the outlook as a 'cautious investment approach' with a 'wait-and-see' stance, amid near-term policy and trade-related uncertainties. However, he believes Malaysia's third investment upcycle – characterised by high-quality investments which began in mid-2023 – remained intact and would not 'just fizzle out like that'. 'I am hopeful that it will be much more stable by 2H26,' Lee said. In the meantime, he stressed that it was important for Malaysia to enhance its tax competitiveness and ease of doing business to remain relevant as an investment destination amid current trade uncertainties. In this regard, Lee calls for measures like cutting the corporate tax rate from 24% to 22% and increasing the threshold for small and medium enterprises enjoying a preferential tax rate of 15% for the first RM2mil chargeable income. SERC projects Malaysia's gross domestic product growth to slow to 4% in both 2025 and 2026. It expects inflation to remain in the range of 1.5% to 1.8% for the year, and between 2% to 2.5% in 2026. According to Lee, the growth outlook overall remains tilted to the downside, stemming mainly from sluggish global trade, subdued investor confidence and disappointing commodity output. 'Persistent external uncertainties along with weak implementation of the various masterplans could weigh on domestic demand, especially investment,' he said. Meanwhile, Lee noted the ringgit's outlook remains positive, backed by strong economic fundamentals and economic resilience – diversified economic sectors and export markets, sustaining investment flows and services growth. 'Nevertheless, negative risks for the ringgit are global growth prospects, the US trade policy, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate path and the Chinese yuan. We expect the ringgit to end 2025 at RM4.20 against the US dollar,' he said. As for the outlook on global growth, Lee said a continued slowdown in 2H25 and 2026 is expected due to the impact of ongoing tariffs and policy uncertainty, as well as geopolitical risks. The US economy is expected to see a near-term slowdown as consumers' front-loading purchase wanes and consumer inflation ticks up. 'Nevertheless, monetary easing, tax cuts, deregulation and strong tech investments are expected to cushion a severe economic slowdown. Higher consumer inflation risk could limit the Fed's rate easing. 'We expect the Fed to pivot toward rate cuts in 2H25 and 2026 to support the economy, although the expected higher inflation may slow down the rate cut,' he said.
Sinar Daily
10 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
PM launches ILMU, Malaysia's first home-grown multimodal AI
Fully developed, owned and operated in Malaysia, it is built by YTL AI Labs, in partnership with Universiti Malaya. 12 Aug 2025 08:43pm Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim delivers his keynote address at the official launch of the ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, today. - Photo by Bernama KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched Malaysia's home-grown multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) model, 'ILMU', during the inaugural ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) today. ILMU is Malaysia's own multimodal large language model (LLM), trained on local language and data to understand our culture, context and daily realities. Fully developed, owned and operated in Malaysia, it is built by YTL AI Labs, in partnership with Universiti Malaya (UM). ILMU keeps data local and gives the nation strategic control over its AI future, ensuring we lead with intelligence rooted in our own values and voice. The name ILMU stands for Intelek Luhur Malaysia Untukmu, reflecting the model's core values of 'Intelek', for context-aware intelligence; 'Luhur', for ethical foundations rooted in Malaysian values; 'Malaysia', for cultural and linguistic fluency; and 'Untukmu', because it is built to serve all Malaysians. ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn and Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo were also present at the launch. Meanwhile, Gobind, in a statement, applauded the establishment of ILMU, a groundbreaking Malaysian innovation by YTL AI Labs that reflects the national vision for a future driven by technology, inclusivity, and cultural relevance. "Built by Malaysians for Malaysians, ILMU showcases our ability to create world-class AI infrastructure while preserving our linguistic and cultural identity. "This is more than just technology; it is a step towards empowering our people, our businesses, and our nation in the digital era,' he said. YTL Power International Bhd managing director Datuk Seri Yeoh Seok Hong said ILMU represents YTL's commitment to innovation, rooted in Malaysia's diverse cultural and intellectual heritage. YTL AI Labs said ILMU performed on par with state-of-the-art models like GPT-4o and Llama 3.1. It said ILMU achieved the highest score among all frontier models in Bahasa Melayu language understanding (MalayMMLU - a test of multi-domain knowledge in Malay), demonstrating stronger performance on real-world prompts. ILMUchat (the AI Chatbot) for consumers will be available for early access on Malaysia Day, Sept 16, 2025. The public is welcome to register their interest at - BERNAMA
Borneo Post
10 hours ago
- Borneo Post
Minister: Emergency readiness key to Sarawak's aviation development
Lee (third right) receives a memento from Anuar (third left), as others look on. MIRI (Aug 12): Sarawak must strengthen its capacity to respond effectively to emergencies in line with the state's ongoing efforts to develop its aviation and transport infrastructure, said state Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin. Speaking at the official launch of the Joint Aeronautical Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX JASAR) 2025 here earlier today, he said that as Sarawak aspired to play a greater role within the national and regional aviation ecosystem, the Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MoTS) had begun shaping its long-term vision through the Sarawak Aviation and Aerospace Strategy. 'The vision includes enhancing regional emergency preparedness and inter-agency coordination, particularly for offshore and remote area operations. 'It also involves strengthening aviation infrastructure, regulatory alignment, human capital development, and exploring long-term opportunities in aerospace education, aircraft maintenance, and sustainable aviation initiatives, such as research on alternative fuels,' he said. Lee emphasised that while the strategy was still being formalised, exercises like SAREX JASAR were critical building blocks that could help identify the gaps, validate protocols, and build operational experience to guide future policies and investments in aviation safety and aerospace readiness. Lee also highlighted the importance of offshore aviation safety, particularly for the oil and gas sector – one of the nation's most important economic pillars. 'A robust search-and-rescue (SAR) capability, rapid response systems, and well-coordinated multi-agency support are essential to sustaining operations in this high-risk and high-value industry,' he said. He also acknowledged the crucial roles of the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and the Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPS). On SAREX JASAR 2025, Lee described it as 'not only a drill, but also a demonstration of Sarawak's commitment to aviation safety, the protection of our critical industries, and the pursuit of long-term aerospace development'. He also expressed appreciation to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), Shell Malaysia, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and the 23 other participating agencies including government departments, enforcement bodies, regulators, airport and air operators, and key players from Malaysia's oil and gas industry , for jointly holding the event. 'I was informed that the exercise involved more than 300 personnel from 23 organisations. This strong multi-agency participation is a clear testament to our united commitment to advancing Malaysia's offshore aviation and SAR readiness,' he said. Among those present were CAAM chief executive officer Dato Capt Norazman Mahmud, CAAM Air Navigation Services Operations Division director Khairul A'amali Ismail, and Petronas senior general manager Anuar Ismail. aviation development emergency response lead Lee Kim Shin
