MIRI: Fifty-six retailers who passed the assessment under the Smart Enforcement Programme here received a certificate and plaque each.

It was to thank them for cooperating with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) in practising a honest way of doing business.

According to head of KPDNKK Miri, Thomas Chua Kee Chuan, the assessment included spot checks on weighing scales and display of price tags.

“But sadly the 56 retailers who passed were only half of the total 109 retailers assessed last year; the other half failed during the assessment conducted within eight months to a year,” Chua told reporters at KPNKK office yesterday.

The recipients, he disclosed, were hawkers selling chicken, pork, fish and vegetables at Jalan Brooke’s wet market and the Central Market.

“To prevent confusion among consumers, retailers must display price tags while their weighing scales must be verified by the Department of Legal Metrology and Consumer Protection,” he said.

Chua said the assessment, a continuous effort by KPDNKK, involved spot checks of retailer shops in Bintang Megamall for imitation goods.

In conjunction with the upcoming Christmas festival, KPDNKK will be announcing lists of controlled items and prices.