PAPAR, SABAH, MALAYSIA – Nov 9, 2025 – The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has broadened its collaborative efforts to promote digitalization and price transparency in retail by signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two major supermarkets in Sabah: Bataras Supermarket Sdn. Bhd. and CKS Retail Sdn. Bhd.
This move marks a significant step in KPDN’s ongoing strategy to build a wider network of retail partners for real-time price data sharing through the PriceCatcher mobile app. The initiative, which began a year ago with the participation of MYDIN and Redtick supermarkets, aims to empower consumers with accessible market price information to make informed shopping decisions and comparisons.
Under the new agreements, the Sabah-based retailers will voluntarily automate the supply of price data for essential goods directly into the PriceCatcher system. Previously, price updates relied solely on manual collections by Price Monitoring Officers (PPH), limiting coverage in terms of geographic reach and the number of outlets involved. The automated integration will now provide Sabah users with near real-time data, expanding the app’s utility in the region.
The PriceCatcher app currently displays daily, weekly, and monthly price updates for 316 essential consumer items across categories such as fresh produce, dry goods, packaged items, milk and baby products, hygiene essentials, and beverages. As of October 31, 2025, it has been downloaded by over 590,000 users nationwide, with an average of 10,000 active weekly visitors, serving as a key reference tool for price checks.
KPDN remains committed to encouraging more supermarkets and retail outlets to join the automated data-sharing program, underscoring the retail sector’s dedication to digital transparency as a means of upholding consumers’ universal right to accurate information.
Push for PTV 3.0 Voucher Redemption to Bolster Social Protection
In a parallel effort to ease living costs, KPDN is urging recipients of the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) to promptly redeem their Protection Tranquility Voucher (PTV) 3.0 allocations. Launched on September 1, 2025, under the MADANI Government initiative, PTV 3.0 offers RM30 vouchers to 2 million STR recipients for purchasing basic insurance and takaful (Islamic insurance) products from licensed providers until December 31, 2025, or until stocks are depleted.
The program strengthens the social safety net for low-income groups by making affordable protection accessible. To date, as of November 11, 2025, 18,826 STR recipients have redeemed vouchers and acquired takaful or insurance products through selected participating companies.
Complementing this, KPDN, in collaboration with the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), hosted a Takaful Awareness Series program in Papar, Sabah, today. The event focused on voucher redemption and aimed to enhance awareness and uptake of basic, affordable protection products among the public.
KPDN encourages all eligible STR recipients to register and redeem their PTV 3.0 vouchers via the MyCoverage web portal at https://www.mycoverage.my before the program ends.
Datuk Armizan bin Mohd Ali, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, emphasized the government’s resolve to lighten household burdens through robust social protection measures. “These initiatives reflect our unwavering commitment to digital empowerment and financial security for all Malaysians,” he stated during the event in Papar, Sabah.
