Mat Sabu To Conduct Spot Checks To Ensure Farmers Use Aid Properly

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PARLIAMENT | Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu plans to conduct random visits to paddy farmers to ensure the proper utilisation of assistance given to them.
During his winding-up speech at the Dewan Rakyat today, Mohamad, also known as Mat Sabu, said he would make unannounced visits.
“I want to see if the assistance provided is being used correctly and whether it is sustainable.
“We know that sometimes when we provide aid, everything looks good during a minister’s visit. However, if we go back two years later, sometimes the place or the business is no longer there.
“That is why I will try, whenever possible, to make visits without officers and so on, because I want to see for myself if the public funds used to assist farmers and vegetable growers are being utilised properly,” he said.
Local white rice price stays
Last week, the Kota Raja MP announced that the government would maintain the price of local white rice at RM2.60 per kg and increase the floor paddy price from RM1,300 to RM1,500 per tonne.
The matter sparked heated debate in the Dewan Rakyat last week following a protest by over 200 farmers in Putrajaya, who demanded an increase in the floor paddy price to RM1,800 by January.
Elaborating, Mohamad urged MPs to wait for the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) to reveal its report on local white rice supplies and allegations of a rice and paddy cartel.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad SabuThis came after several opposition MPs, including its leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut), Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran), and Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang), raised questions about the supply of local white rice in the country.
“The MyCC study on the paddy and rice industry has been completed and presented to the Cabinet Committee on the Current Status of the MyCC Report on National Food Security Policy on Dec 17, 2024, in a meeting chaired by the prime minister himself.
“I would like to inform you that this MyCC report belongs to MyCC. Therefore, any public disclosure is subject to MyCC’s jurisdiction,” Mohamad said.
ADSHowever, he did not say when the report will be presented publicly.
Govt to absorb costs
During his briefing last week, Mohamad also mentioned that the government would absorb part of the production costs for local white rice, allocating RM150 million for the next six months, with approximately 24 million 10kg sacks expected in the market from March 1.
Additionally, Mohamad said no discussion had taken place on setting a ceiling price for imported white rice.
This was in response to Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman’s (PN-Sik) question about whether the government had any intervention plans to curb the surge in imported white rice prices.
“If imported rice prices rise significantly and we want to cap them, the government would have to spend a substantial amount. However, we will look at this from time to time.
“The six-month plan I presented last week will be implemented first, and in the meantime, we will monitor global rice price trends and the situation in Malaysia,” Mohamad added. - Mkini

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