IPOH, Jan 28: A total of 20 tonnes of imported white rice were sold out in less than two hours at the MADANI Cheapest Sale programme at the Taman Klebang Restu public field near here today.
Lucky consumers were able to buy a 10-kg pack of imported white rice at RM30 compared to the usual price of more than RM40 each.
Squids, prawns and fish were also offered at prices lower than the prevailing market prices.
A 43-year-old food trader, Mohd Zaki Che Hahsim, said he had queued up from 8.30am to get rice at discounted prices.
“A saving of more than RM10 is definitely worth it because it helps me as a small trader to reduce my cost of doing business. When there is a sale like this, we take the opportunity, regardless of the brand, as long as it is of good quality and affordable,” he said.
Housewife Nurul Fatihah Johari, 38, who found out about the bargains on social media, said: “Normally, the 10 kg of rice we buy is used up within three weeks as we have five children, so I bought as much as I could today.”
V. Krishnamuthu, 52, said such cheap sale programmes could help reduce people’s cost of living and hoped that the initiative would happen more often.
“This is indeed the opportunity I have been waiting for to get a supply of rice. Getting a chance twice a month is enough because instead of buying rice every week and saving RM20 to RM30, we are grateful.
“Rice is the staple food of the people in this country. If there is a chance for traders to sell it cheaply, it is certainly a relief for us low-income people,” he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim visited the sales programme and spent almost an hour greeting traders and visitors.
The sales programme also featured the MADANI Buffet at RM5 per person.
— BERNAMA