Labuan receives sugar supply after week-long shortage

LABUAN: After enduring a sugar shortage for over a week, consumers here finally found relief as additional sugar supplies arrived on this duty-free island.

The Labuan branch of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry confirmed that 9,800 kg of sugar were received from wholesalers in Sabah, namely Chung Kwong, Sandakan, and Keluarga Timur Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday morning (Jan 17).

Its director, Junaidah Arbain, said further supplies are expected in the coming days.

“Within one or two days, an additional 10,000kg of sugar is anticipated from Sabah, with another delivery of 118,800kg expected by the following week,” she said to BK on Wednesday.

The prolonged sugar shortage has frustrated consumers, restaurant operators, and food and bakery shop owners.

Many have expressed discontent on social media platforms, directing their ire at Labuan MP Datuk Dr Suhaili Abd Rahman, who later directed the complaints to Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Ali.

Businesses have suffered, with some forced to temporarily cease operations due to the lack of sugar on their shelves.

Omar Ali, the owner of a bakery shop in Kg Sg Bedaun, lamented, “We have been relying on sugar for our bakery shop; we had to close business operations for several days.”

Restaurant operators also shared their struggles, noting that they were limited to offering only chilled and canned drinks to customers during the shortage.

Armizan, in a statement on Tuesday, said the shortage of sugar supply in Labuan is expected to be resolved by Wednesday at the latest.

He said 118.8 tonnes of the household staple had been sent from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia to Labuan to be distributed to wholesalers and traders.

He said as soon as he was informed about the sugar supply disruption in Labuan through an official complaint by Labuan MP Dr Suhaili, he promptly instructed the ministry’s headquarters to take immediate action.

Armizan stated that the distant location of Labuan from the source of sugar supplies was the main issue, significantly affecting the supply chain. – BK