2nd November 2026 - 6 min read
The week before Deepavali is when you buy the most onions, coconut and mutton. To stop sellers charging too much for them, the government will cap the prices of 11 items from 4 to 10 November under the Festive Season Maximum Price Scheme (SHMMP). That’s two more items than last year. The caps cover four days before Deepavali on 8 November, the day itself and two days after.
The two new items are coconut milk and potatoes imported from China. According to Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, the conflict in West Asia has pushed up costs for petrochemicals and packaging, which impacts the cost of these items.. He added that there’s still enough supply, which helps keep prices steady.
In Peninsular Malaysia, eight of the other nine items have the same cap as last year or a lower one. Imported bone-in mutton is the exception, and its cap has gone up from RM30 to RM35/kg.
Each item has a maximum price that traders can’t go above, and you’ll find it on a pink price tag. Prices are per kg unless stated. To see KPDN’s full list, scan the QR code on the right side of KPDN’s homepage.
| Item | 2026 Cap | 2025 Cap |
| Large red onions (imported) | RM4.00 | RM4.50 |
| Indian shallots | RM4.50 | RM5.00 |
| Indian rose shallots | RM6.00 | RM6.00 |
| Red chillies | RM16.00 | RM16.00 |
| Tomatoes | RM5.50 | RM5.50 |
| Australian dhal | RM4.50 | RM5.00 |
| Whole coconuts (wholesale only) | RM2.50 each | RM2.70 each |
| Grated coconut | RM10.00 | RM12.00 |
| Coconut milk | RM13.50 | New |
| Potatoes (China) | RM3.30 | New |
| Imported bone-in mutton | RM35.00 | RM30.00 |
Source: KPDN
The cap on whole coconuts only applies when traders buy from a wholesaler, so what you pay for a coconut at the market isn’t covered. For grated coconut and coconut milk, it’s the price you pay at the shop that’s capped.
If you’re cooking mutton curry, 1kg each of mutton, large onions, dhal and grated coconut costs up to RM53.50 at this year’s caps, RM2 more than last year. The onions, dhal and grated coconut are RM3 lower in total, but mutton alone is up RM5.
Controlled prices are set separately for each region, so East Malaysia’s aren’t the same as the Peninsula’s. The Sarawak caps below apply across the state except in Limbang and Lawas.
| Item | 2026 Cap | 2025 Cap |
| Large red onions (imported) | Sarawak RM4.50 Sabah RM4.00 Labuan RM4.50 | Sarawak RM4.50 Sabah RM4.50 Labuan RM4.50 |
| Indian shallots | Sarawak RM6.00 Sabah RM6.00 Labuan RM6.00 | Sarawak RM7.00 Sabah RM6.00Labuan RM6.00 |
| Indian rose shallots | Sarawak RM6.00 Sabah RM6.50Labuan RM6.50 | Sarawak RM6.00 Sabah RM6.50 Labuan RM6.50 |
| Red chillies | Sarawak RM17.00 Sabah RM16.00 Labuan RM17.00 | Sarawak RM17.00 Sabah RM16.00 (West Coast) and RM16.50 (East Coast) Labuan RM17.00 |
| Tomatoes | Sarawak RM7.00 Sabah RM6.50 Labuan RM7.00 | Sarawak RM7.00 Sabah RM6.00 (West Coast) and RM6.50 (East Coast) Labuan RM7.00 |
| Australian dhal | Sarawak RM4.50 Sabah RM5.50 Labuan RM5.50 | Sarawak RM5.00 Sabah RM6.00 Labuan RM6.00 |
| Whole coconuts (wholesale only) | Sarawak RM2.00 Sabah RM1.90 Labuan RM2.30 each | Sarawak RM2.00 Sabah RM1.90 Labuan RM2.30 each |
| Grated coconut | Sarawak RM8.00 Sabah RM8.60 Labuan RM10.00 | Sarawak RM9.00 Sabah RM8.60 Labuan RM10.00 |
| Coconut milk | Sarawak RM11.00 Sabah RM10.50, Labuan RM12.50 | New |
| Potatoes (China) | Sarawak RM3.50, Sabah RM3.30, Labuan RM3.30 | New |
| Imported bone-in mutton | Sarawak RM36.00 Sabah RM35.00 Labuan RM35.00 | Sarawak RM30.00 Sabah RM30.00 Labuan RM32.00 |
Source: KPDN
Mutton has gone up by RM6/kg in Sarawak, RM5 in Sabah and RM3 in Labuan. In Limbang and Lawas, the mutton cap is up from RM32 to RM37/kg and tomatoes are up from RM7 to RM8/kg. Red chillies there are down from RM20 to RM18/kg, and dhal is down from RM7 to RM6.50/kg.
Sabah’s West Coast and East Coast used to have different maximum prices for tomatoes and red chillies, but this year they share one. If you live in Kota Kinabalu or elsewhere on the West Coast, tomatoes can now cost up to 50 sen more per kg than last year. In East Coast towns such as Sandakan and Tawau, the limit on red chillies is 50 sen lower.
The ministry said mutton was the only item with a higher cap. KPDN’s own price lists show tomatoes have gone up too, in Limbang, Lawas and Sabah’s West Coast.
During last year’s Deepavali scheme, KPDN took action against traders 445 times, and 433 of those cases were for traders who didn’t use the pink tag. Only six were for selling above the maximum price. So if you can’t see a pink tag on the onions or the mutton, that’s something you can report too, even if the price looks fine. A trader who leaves it out can be fined up to RM10,000, or up to RM20,000 for a company.
You can make a complaint to KPDN through any of these channels.
KPDN handles complaints from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, or Sunday to Thursday in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. Give the name and location of the shop, the item, the price you were charged and the date. A photo of the price tag or your receipt makes the complaint much easier for KPDN to act on.
Under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011, a trader who sells above the cap can be fined up to RM100,000, jailed for up to three years, or both. Companies can be fined up to RM500,000.
Shops can sell below the cap, and some did last year. One Batu Caves supermarket was selling imported mutton at RM25.99/kg against a RM30 cap, and large onions at RM1.99/kg against a cap of RM4.50. So check two or three shops before you buy. Our guide on saving RM100 on your next grocery run shows how a cashback card can take more off the bill.
There’s no need to wait for 4 November if the price you see today is already below the cap. From 4 to 10 November, report any stall that charges more than the cap.
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Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
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