IPOH (May 21): Following the announcement yesterday that four Perak sub-districts would come under the enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) from tomorrow till June 4, Bernama saw many people rushing to the stores and markets today to stock up on essentials.
People in Ipoh waited for hours in long lines that started early in the morning.
Ipoh Main Market vegetable seller, Nurul Atikah Mohd Salleh, 24, said the atmosphere was noticeably different with people frantically buying food items.
“Normally, there aren’t many people on a Friday. The atmosphere now is like at the weekend or on a public holiday. Many are panic buying because from tomorrow, only one person is allowed to go out.
“The majority of shoppers are women. Perhaps because they are more astute when it comes to buying groceries,” she told Bernama.
Market-goer, Nur Farirah Abdullah, 32, said she was shocked by the crowd size on a working day and close to 10am.
Akmal Hishamuddin, 34, a private sector worker, said at the Jelapang market: “I had to slip away from work to get groceries to stock up the larder. This time, however, it was easier to gauge how much to buy for the family.”
Bernama also observed that people were buying more than usual and caused a supermarket here to run low on items like bell pepper, meat and fish.
Bernama saw many supermarket shelves stripped bare and people loading up shopping carts like they were buying to celebrate Hari Raya.
Meanwhile, the Perak branch of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) guaranteed in a statement today that there will be sufficient stock of essential items which will also be easily obtainable during the EMCO period.
Its director, Saifullizan Kamarul Zaman, said that based on their survey, there is enough stock at the retail, wholesale and manufacturing level to meet demand.
“Merchants have also been reminded not to take advantage of the situation by raising prices, confusing customers with pricing, concealing controlled items and cheating with the weights,” he said.
Panic buying around Ipoh and pictures of empty shelves went viral on social media yesterday after the announcement about the EMCO in Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak by Senior Minister (Security Cluster), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, due to spiking Covid-19 cases.
The four affected sub-districts in Perak are Pengkalan Hulu, Taiping, Hulu Kinta (Ipoh, Lahat, Chemor and Tanjong Rambutan) and Hulu Bernam Timur.
