Domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali said the scheme will run until Oct 22, Bernama reported.

The scheme is aimed at ensuring price stability during the festive period and protecting consumers from unreasonable price hikes.

The items listed include imported bone-in mutton, tomatoes, red chillies, small red onions and rose onions (from India), large imported shallots, Australian dhal beans, whole coconut (maximum price applicable at the wholesale level only), and grated coconut (maximum price applicable at the retail level only).

Armizan said the implementation takes into account feedback and input from industry players.

“We also encourage traders to sell below the maximum price where possible,” he said after launching the scheme in Kota Kinabalu today.

The ministry is also working closely with the agriculture and food security ministry to ensure a sufficient supply of goods throughout the festive period.

Armizan added that the controlled items would be labelled with pink price tags to help consumers identify them easily.