Accra:The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is in the process of drafting regulations aimed at reducing ticket scalping across the country, as announced in the Dewan Rakyat today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Deputy Minister Datuk Dr. Fuziah Salleh stated that these regulations are being developed under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723) due to the absence of specific legal provisions to address ticket scalping.

Section 15(1) of Act 723 gives the Minister the authority to create regulations to prevent tickets from being resold at inflated prices. Fuziah mentioned that KPDN is collaborating with event organizers and conducting benchmarking studies to formulate an effective legal framework.

Fuziah was responding to a query from Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) regarding the ministry's strategies to tackle ticket scalping. She highlighted that the benchmarking study includes an examination of legislation and strategies from various countries like Australia, Ireland, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Key focus areas in the regulations include defining and scoping ticket scalping, managing bulk ticket purchases, and mandating ticket-holder identification. Fuziah also noted the need for a mechanism to assess profiteering in ticket scalping, given the current requirement for three years of sales data while event organization typically occurs as a one-off activity.

In response to an additional question from Mohd Isam about interim measures and the timeline for the regulation's implementation, Fuziah indicated that public awareness efforts are ongoing to combat ticket scalping and safeguard consumers. The proposed regulations do not require parliamentary approval but must be gazetted, a process anticipated to take at least six months, allowing enforcement to begin next year.