Checks by Utusan Malaysia found that nearly every sundry shop in the Sungai Golok market and nearby areas were selling the subsidised cooking oil from Malaysia, as well as other goods with price controls like wheat flour and sugar.

One trader, who wanted to be known as Ting, said he obtained the oil from a Malaysian who smuggled the goods, and his supply had never been cut.

“Every month I stock around 2,000 packets of cooking oil in case the supply arrives late,” he said, adding that the polybags from Malaysia were sold for RM6 to RM6.50 each.

Another trader known as Esen said he also sold petrol and diesel smuggled from Malaysia, which were subsidised by Putrajaya.

He said there was a demand for fuel from Malaysia in villages nearby as the petrol and diesel were sold at cheaper prices.

He claimed the sale of subsidised goods smuggled from Malaysia had been going for a while now.

“We won’t be surprised if enforcement is tightened at the borders and rat lanes, but we will patiently wait for supply to recover soon after that,” he said.