06/01/2008 (International Herald Tribune, France), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian cooking oil will be rationed starting Monday to counter a supply shortage caused by smuggling and panic buying amid fears of a price hike, a government official said.

Consumers will be allowed to buy only up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of cooking oil at any one time, said Hoo Seong Chang, parliamentary secretary of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Supermarkets and retail stores nationwide have been told to enforce the rationing, he told The Associated Press on Sunday.

"It's a temporary measure to alleviate the shortage. It will help to prevent panic buying," he said. "We can't control 100 percent but at least people cannot buy more than 5 kilograms at any one time."

The government is also asking cooking oil manufacturers to raise production, and is urging consumers to cooperate to ensure that the shortage is resolved quickly, Hoo said.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said panic buying and hoarding had created an "artificial shortage" of cooking oil, prompting the rationing, but that there was plenty of oil for everyone, The Sunday Star newspaper reported.

"There is enough supply but the situation is due to an extraordinary demand," Najib was quoted as saying.

A Najib aide who declined to be named citing ministry policy confirmed his comments but could not give further details.

The customs department has been told to step up checks along the border with Thailand following reports that cooking oil was being smuggled into that country, newspapers reported Sunday.

The Sunday Star said news of the rationing had sparked a renewed rush to buy cooking oil nationwide.