Yesterday, the chairman of the task force (food cluster) under the National Action Council for Cost of Living (NACCOL) Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Faisal announced that the Malaysia Madani white rice priced at RM30 for a 10kg sack is expected to be available in the market starting from March 1.
He said there will no longer be SST and SSI categories, and the Malaysia Madani white rice will be the sole category.
Mydin hypermarket managing director, Ameer Ali Mydin, however, is urging the government to explain the decision to abolish the local white rice (SST) and imported white rice (SSI) categories
“It’s impossible for the government to eliminate SSI because it’s imported rice. What will happen to SSI?
“Where is this RM30 per 10kg white rice going to come from? If they mix imported and local rice, it is illegal. This initiative raises more questions than answers to wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
He also questioned the rather short notice of less than two weeks for the implementation of the initiative to sell a 10kg sack of white rice at RM30 from March 1.
“If done at such short notice, there may be massive shortages when implemented. With Ramadan approaching, it is worrying,” he said.
Other than the timing, Ameer also said if the price of white rice is indeed increased from RM26 to RM30 per 10kg sack, consumers would feel the pinch even with increased availability.
Echoing the Mydin’s boss' concern, the Consumer Association of Kedah (Cake) has also urged the government to explain loopholes in the Madani white rice scheme.
Its president Yusrizal Yusoff said the government should provide more details regarding the RM30 price tag for 10kg packaging following the decision to abolish the categories of local white rice (SST) and imported white rice (SSI).
He said that locally produced white rice production is superior in quality to the imported white rice.
"Local white rice and imported white rice are not equal in terms of quality. We have been receiving reports of the inferior quality of some imported white rice.
Thus, the question regarding this Madani white rice scheme, is whether these two types of rice are mixed or separated.
"If that is the case, the consumers will not be given an option to choose a higher quality rice under the scheme.
Consumer group Sustainable Development Network Malaysia chairman Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said while it is good to do away with two categories of white rice, the shortage of 60% of local white rice in the market has not been addressed.
“How come we are told that 60% of local white rice is in the market but we cannot find local white rice at RM26 per 10kg sack? For now, we only find the RM40 per 10kg sack of white rice in the market,” he asked.
Bernas, when contacted by The Star, said that it will reserve comment for the time being.
TheRealNehruism 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!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
