The government’s recent launch of Madani Mart is merely a replication of a past initiative, repackaging and renaming policies that already exist. This clearly demonstrates that the Madani administration, led by Pakatan Harapan, continues to endorse policies originally introduced under Barisan Nasional.

Since taking office, the Madani government has renamed and repackaged several BN-era assistance programmes. BR1M became Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH), STR was rebranded as Compassion Aid, and Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) has been given a new name and now operates as Madani Mart.

When BN launched KR1M, opposition PH leaders criticised it sharply, describing it as a waste of public funds, a short-term fix, and raising concerns over potential cronyism. Now, PH is in government and reintroduces the same concept under a new name. Changing the ‘label’ does not transform it into good governance.

The new initiative not only replicates the old BN model but also suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of transparency. Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Fuziah Salleh claimed that the government did not provide funding for Madani Mart, a statement that raises more questions than it answers.

If the government did not finance the programme, then who is covering the costs? What is the source of the so-called Madani Foundation (Yayasan Madani)? Should the public not be given a clear explanation? How can Madani Mart offer prices lower than the market without government subsidies? Are all 640 participating merchants voluntarily accepting losses or reducing profits purely as a form of corporate social responsibility? If so, how many can sustain this long term?

Minister Fuziah also stated that merchants participate through a licensing system and pay royalties to the government, which adds to the confusion. A business that requires royalty payments but cannot guarantee profitability is unlikely to attract sustainable participation. There is further concern over the requirement for certain products to be sourced from designated distributors.

If this is not a franchise system, why are specific distributors mandated? Were they selected through public tender? Without a transparent process, the public cannot be assured that cronyism is not involved.

If Madani Mart receives no subsidies and prices are determined by market forces, it is essentially just another community shop. With established retailers such as 99 Speedmart, KK Super Mart, Mydin, Jaya Grocer, TF Value-Mart, and Econsave already serving communities, the creation of another platform appears redundant.

If the government genuinely provides subsidies to offer cheaper essentials, it must disclose the amount spent, the fairness of the distribution system, and whether public tenders were conducted. Without such transparency, requiring merchants to pay fees while restricting supply channels makes the model unworkable. The public has every reason to suspect potential irregularities behind the scenes.

MCA Youth therefore urges the government to adopt more direct and effective measures to ease the cost of living, such as issuing food vouchers and allowing citizens to purchase essentials freely from existing, well-established retail networks.

Saw Yee Fung
MCA Youth Secretary General

4 April 2026

-MCA Comm-