BUKIT MERTAJAM: The MADANI Cheapest Sale Programme in Penang, held here today, received an overwhelming response from the public, with a large crowd gathered, to purchase essential goods at lower prices.
What made the event, held in Kampung Masjid Timah, Permatang Pauh, more special was the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim., who was at the venue for about 30 minutes, during which he simultaneously launched the MADANI Cheapest Sale Programme for the Northern, Southern, and Central Zones.
Mohd Razali Desa, 52, said he did not want to miss the chance to get essential items at cheaper prices and came to the sale programme.
He said goods sold were significantly cheaper than the market prices at supermarkets or shopping centres.
“I can save up to 30 per cent by shopping at the MADANI Sale and hope such sales could be organised more frequently.
“Today, many essential food items are affordable, including fish, eggs, and rice. Even fruits are cheap, like longan, which costs only RM7 per kilogramme. We managed to save a lot and hope this programme can be carried out more often here,“ he told Bernama.
For Norhayati Jamail, 39, the programme allowed her to save her expenses even more, especially for seafood, as they are sold at prices lower than the market rate.
She said customers who spent RM50 and above were also given chicken for free.
“I bought fish, squid, crabs, and prawns—all very cheap today. I also bought some dried foodstuff. All the foodstuff I bought today can last up to two weeks, so I managed to save quite a bit,“ she said.
Chan Cee Woon, 50, concurred with Norhayati, saying that she came to shop at the MADANI Sale because not only are the items cheaper, but they are also fresh and offer a wide variety of choices.
The woman, who takes care of two brothers, both persons with disabilities (PwDs), said she bought “ikan selar”, which is sold for only 50 sen each, and some other items which are sold at below market price.
“I also queued to buy local rice, but it turned out it was given for free to the earliest visitors, and I was lucky to receive it. The money I had set aside for rice could then be used to buy vegetables and fruits,“ said Chan, who is self-employed.
Among the affordable items sold at the MADANI Cheapest Sale were chicken eggs, various types of fish, vegetables, fruits, wheat flour, and rice.
A variety of seafood was offered at low prices, including ikan selar at 50 sen each, seabass at RM5 each, pomfret at RM25 per kilogramme, crabs at RM23 per kilogramme and squid at RM20 per kilogramme.
What stood out the most was that visitors who spent RM50 or more received a free chicken, with 1,000 chickens allocated for the programme.
The first 200 visitors also received a 10-kilogram pack of local rice for free.
