Minister Armizan Mohd Ali said the decision was made during a Cabinet meeting on March 26, Bernama reported.

He said the committee, chaired by ministry secretary-general Sayuthi Bakar, will include representatives from the agriculture and food security ministry, the plantation and commodities ministry and other agencies.

“The establishment of this committee also aims to improve the current ad hoc cooperation into a more strategic and continuous approach.

“Alhamdulillah, this year we have managed to curb elements that disrupted the supply of goods and price stability, but the Cabinet wants these efforts to continue and be enhanced through this committee,” he was quoted as saying at a press conference.

According to Armizan, the committee’s first meeting is scheduled for May and will convene every two months.

He also said government intervention would be considered if there were disruptions in supply or pricing.

Separately, Armizan said the ministry is working with the Islamic development department (Jakim) to remove any imported Indonesian food products containing porcine DNA from the local market.

“Upon receiving the information, we immediately engaged with Jakim to facilitate the swift removal of the products from our market.

“We will coordinate with Jakim and state-level religious authorities, based on the announcement by Indonesia’s halal authority,” he said.

On Tuesday, Jakim ordered the immediate recall of several imported food products from Indonesia after tests revealed they contained porcine DNA.