KOTA KINABALU: The government must act firmly against those manipulating local white rice being sold as imported rice, says Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.
The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president said the Agriculture Ministry should not be in a state of denial about manipulation carried out by certain parties trying to profit by selling local white rice as imported rice.
"The Ministry should be more serious and sensitive in dealing with the local white rice shortage issue, which only happens when the retail price of imported white rice reaches up to RM 3.90 per kg, compared to the retail control price of local white at RM2.60 per kg.
"This significant price difference is certainly one of the driving factors for manipulation to continue to happen," he said in a statement.
Kiandee, who was a former agriculture and food industry minister, said the country has consistently managed to produce local rice reaching 65% self-sufficiency level (SSL) and only imports 35% of the requirement.
"In fact, most of the imported rice is fragrant rice and special rice and not white rice.
"The question is where does the local white rice go that has suddenly decreased significantly at this time?
"What is the Ministry's guarantee that this shortage has nothing to do with the increase in the retail price of imported rice?" Kiandee said.
He said the ministry should be more proactive in ensuring that consumers were not exploited by irresponsible parties to make a profit by selling local rice as imported rice.
He also felt that the announcement to limit the purchase of 100kg per individual announced by the Ministry Friday (Sept 8) was not effective and would not resolve the issue without effective enforcement.
"It does not show the seriousness and concern of the government because an announcement like this in reality has no effect if it is not followed up with effective enforcement actions," he added.
He said shortage of the local white rice in the market would pose a severe burden on the people who are currently dealing with an increasing cost of living.
"I hope the Government will be more sensitive and ensure that the local rice supply will not be manipulated by irresponsible parties," he said.
The government spends more than RM1.8bil a year through various subsidies to ensure that Malaysians enjoy the supply of local white rice at a price of RM2.60 per kg, he noted.
