PERAK KPDN INTRODUCES RESPONSE-REWARD PROGRAMME TO PROTECT CONSUMERS

BAGAN DATUK, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has introduced a Response and Reward Programme as a preventative enforcement measure to ensure compliance with price tagging and protection of consumer rights in the retail sector.

State director, Datuk Kamalludin Ismail, said the programme, which began in September 2025 at Econsave Hypermarket Hutan Melintang near Bagan Datuk, has successfully reduced the number of consumer complaints received by the KPDN Teluk Intan Branch.

"This initiative empowers consumers to check shelf prices and report discrepancies if the price at checkout is higher than the displayed one. Consumers are then entitled to receive the item at the same or lower price as advertised and to be rewarded by the trader as a gesture of goodwill.

“The supermarket, in turn, is required to immediately correct the price tag," he explained during a press conference after an inspection of the Christmas 2025 Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP), held in conjunction with the Response and Reward, Complaint Digitalisation Education, and Consumer Rights Awareness programme at the Econsave Hypermarket here today.

Kamalludin said the approach functions as a self-regulatory mechanism for traders, ensuring legal compliance and promoting high ethical standards in business,  which is particularly relevant for large-scale supermarkets that can carry up to 15,000 items.

He added that the programme is a collaboration with two student consumer movements from Kolej Komuniti Bagan Datuk and Kolej Komuniti Teluk Intan, who manage the electronic complaint system and produce educational materials to promote consumer rights awareness.

Meanwhile, a participant of the Response and Reward Programme, 35-year-old Nabila Saadon, said she took the initiative to lodge a complaint after noticing a discrepancy between the displayed price and the amount charged at the till.

“As a consumer, I knew my rights and immediately filed a report with the Econsave management, who acknowledged my complaint for action,” she said.

Another participant, 24-year-old Mohamad Razman Jaafar, shared that he had previously encountered pricing errors but simply overlooked them before learning about the Response and Reward Programme.

“It was very straightforward – just fill in the relevant details online and submit. I did not expect to be recognised and rewarded, along with the other participants who filed reports,” he said.

-- BERNAMA