Recently, Umno Youth Chief Dr Akmal Saleh, who is also the chairman of Melaka Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee, had "ambushed" several rice factory operators who allegedly did not comply with the requirements and prices set by the federal government. He had further stressed that their small profit margins should not be used as an excuse not to produce local rice.
Following that incident, former PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has also waded into the controversy. According to a local news report he had warned that the current interim solutions taken to address food security problems in our country may not be adequate.
He has called on the current government to come up with a holistic plan to resolve the shortage of local white rice supplies.
In fact, in his latest Facebook post he had expressed his deep concern regarding the difficulties faced by the people in buying local rice in grocery stores and supermarkets.
Apparently, because of this, they are now queueing up in long lines to buy rice at sales locations run by government agencies. He lamented that this situation had never happened before in the country!
He went on to point out that Malaysia imports almost 40% of its rice needs from countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and India; while acknowledging that the current problem may be partly attributable to India's restriction on the export of white rice as the country itself is facing a rice supply crisis.
Furthermore, according to him, the production of local rice in the country has also been declining; warning that this could be the beginning of a bigger crisis in the future.
He then went on to outline some “solutions” by urging the government to institute stricter and more comprehensive enforcement actions - so that no parties can manipulate the local rice supply chain - and also by boosting domestic food production.
But will that be enough to resolve the shortage of local white rice and prevent the hike in prices?
According to comments posted on his Facebook page, one user had hinted that as the head of the opposition, perhaps the Perikatan Nasional chairman could have offered some concrete proposals; after all, apparently, during PN rule there used to be shortages of oil and eggs too!
Meanwhile, another user highlighted that Muhyiddin was previously in the government for decades; then why wasn't anything done to increase the country's rice production and at the same time reduce imported rice?
Moreover, a user also mentioned that from the beginning the output of rice never met the local needs and that we have always imported foreign rice. However, the current government is now working to resolve the problem because the previous governments did not make an effort to improve the situation!
On the other hand, a commenter reminded users that the current government is also now working towards increasing the frequency of paddy cultivation to 5 seasons for 2 years.
The contentious issue of “monopoly” was also raised by a netizen on the role of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS), pointing out that “open competition” will be more beneficial to the people.
Finally, not to be outdone, there were some who cheekily reminded Muhyiddin of what happened during his reign when the symbolic "white flags" used to be hoisted by citizens who were in need of food, with one user even joking that those who needed local white rice can start raising the white flag now - so that rice aid can be sent to them!
Just for the record, as reported by the Star Daily, among the measures taken by the current government to address the shortage of locally produced white rice include the imposition of a maximum purchase limit as well as getting manufacturers to increase production by 20% under a special program.
In fact, earlier the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (KPKM) was reported to have held engagement sessions with industry players such as manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, food operators, and food entrepreneurs.
Apparently, according to them, the shortage is partly due to panic buying as well as a chain reaction caused by India's suspension of rice exports plus the depreciation of the ringgit; resulting in the price of imported rice jumping from US$400 per tonne to US$620 per tonne.
Then, as a result of that, BERNAS, controlled by local billionaire Syed Mokhtar, had announced a price hike for all imported white rice from RM2,350 to RM3,200 per tonne starting Sept 1; failing which apparently it would be making losses of RM80mil per month!
Nevertheless, there is still fear among certain quarters that the rice shortage and the price hike may badly affect some food business operators.
But with the unity government already having promptly put in place firm measures to address and overcome the problem, it appears unlikely that anyone will need to raise the “white flag".
JK Joseph is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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