#MaiKanCheong: Tan Chuan-Jin checks out supermarkets after Malaysia announces lockdown

When the DORSCON Orange was announced in February, Singaporeans wiped supermarket shelves clean of toilet paper, rice and canned food.

Some unsavoury behaviour emerged then, such as shoppers hoarding daily necessities and leaving trolleys full of groceries in the stores for the staff to tidy up when the queues got too long.

With Malaysia's announcement on Monday night (March 16) that it was going into lockdown over Covid-19, some thought it would spark another round of panic-buying here.

After wrapping up a Meet-the-People session in his constituency, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin hit the supermarkets to check out the crowds.

He dropped by Fairprice Lengkong Tiga, Giant in Ubi, and Fairprice Xtra at Nex. In his Facebook Live videos, shoppers appeared calm while the crowds remained orderly. Their shopping baskets? Filled with reasonable amounts of groceries.

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"Buy what you need. If everyone behaves excessively then it'll get a bit challenging," Tan said as he urged the public to stay calm during this critical period.

The key is to not buy things excessively, he reiterated in his videos.

Alluding to Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing's candid talk in a closed-door meeting with Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry members last month, Tan hashtagged his post with a cheeky #TryNotToSSThisTimeCan.

With #RememberNOREFUND, he also reminded the public that they wouldn't be able to get refunds for surplus items.

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Adding on to Chan's reassurance that Singapore's essentials are not compromised by Malaysia's two-week-long lockdown, Tan shared an infographic on Singapore's major sources of food supply on Tuesday (March 17).

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also confirmed in a Facebook post that the "the flow of goods and cargo between Singapore and Malaysia, including food supplies, would continue" after his discussion with Malaysia PM Muhyiddin Yassin.

Meanwhile, to ensure that customers are able to access daily essential items, supermarket chain NTUC Fairprice today (March 17) urged shoppers not to stockpile items and expanded the list of products with purchase limits:

• Vegetables: $30 per customer
• Fresh poultry: $30 per customer
• Eggs: Three packs of 10s or One tray of 30s per customer
• Paper products: Four units per customer (toilet paper, facial tissues, kitchen towels)
• Instant noodles/pasta: Two units per customer
• Rice: Two bags per customer

For the latest updates on the coronavirus virus, visit here.

lamminlee@asiaone.com