He said the decision was made after considering the public’s grievances.

“It’s not a U-turn, we did this to benefit the public and that is what is important,” he said while attending a walkabout here.

An opposition MP, Sim Tze Tzin, had said that Ismail’s decision has created the perception that the government was inefficient in planning policies.

Reimposing price controls only created uncertainty in the poultry industry and made it difficult for breeders to plan for the next chicken supply, said Sim, who was deputy agriculture minister in the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

Ismail announced yesterday that the new ceiling price for chicken and the price of chicken eggs would be announced by the agriculture and food industries ministry, and that water and electricity tariffs in the peninsula would not be raised.