This comes after economic affairs minister Mustapa Mohamed told the Dewan Rakyat that the prime minister will chair the National Action Council on Cost of Living meeting on Dec 9.

Anwar (PH-Port Dickson) told the Dewan Rakyat that government agencies should take immediate steps to tackle the problem, saying farm and wholesale prices differed greatly

“There are so many ministers but they are not focusing on problems faced by the rakyat,” he said.

“We are facing a crisis and a meeting will only be held on Dec 9.”

He said the increased cost of essential food items was common knowledge “but no one is aware of the government’s immediate action to tackle the problem”.

He said the issue should be discussed at the Cabinet meeting since it involves several ministries.

Anwar also reminded the government that other opposition MPs had previously called the rise in chicken and vegetable prices a “national crisis”.

Earlier, Mustapa said the government was aware that food prices, including those of chicken, seafood and vegetables, had increased.

“Realising this, the prime minister has instructed all ministries to take immediate action according to their responsibilities,” he said in response to Anwar’s original question on whether the prime minister would take immediate action to tackle the issue.

Mustapa said the statistics department had also been told to monitor the daily prices of essential food items and to report any changes to the government.