Kuala lumpur: The government is continuing to strengthen monitoring and enforcement efforts to ensure the prices of essential goods remain under control amid public concerns over the rising cost of living and food supply issues.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir stated that the government currently monitors price movements of goods weekly. Overall, domestic food prices remained within a controlled range between May 18 and 21, recording movements between negative two per cent and 3.6 per cent. "Price movements for major items, such as chicken, show the current average price at RM9.57 per kilogramme. For beef, the good news is that prices have declined by two per cent to RM38.45 per kilogramme. For mustard greens, however, there has been a significant increase of 3.6 per cent to RM7.08 per kilogramme," he said during a briefing on the Global Supply Crisis today.

He mentioned that despite price increases involving certain goods, the government found that there were still areas and business premises offering lower prices to consumers. Akmal Nasrullah urged traders not to take advantage of the current economic uncertainty by raising prices unreasonably. At the same time, he encouraged consumers to use the PriceCatcher application to compare prices and make smarter purchasing decisions. "Be smart consumers because purchasing power is in your hands," he said.

He added that the public can also access information on the supply and prices of goods through the Supply Crisis Monitoring Dashboard, which has been made available for public access. On the labour market situation, Akmal Nasrullah reported that a total of 7,057 workers were reported to have lost their jobs in April, representing an increase of 21 per cent compared to 5,855 in March. "Although this figure is lower than at the beginning of the year, which recorded 10,658 cases in January and 7,512 in February, the development still requires attention," he stated. He added that the government would ensure the Employment Insurance System, or LINDUNG Kerjaya, under the Social Security Organisation, functions efficiently to assist those who have lost their jobs.