Growing, producing and distributing food can be a criminal offence?

 

Kita rakyat marhein ni jual beras sendiri kena saman.
Buat benih sendiri kena saman
Ada mesin padi kena sita
Buat baja sendiri kena kutuk

I received the following via WhatsApp. 
Author unknown. 
I suppose it is going around.  

Dah dua tahun takde beras harga 2.60
Jauh tu harga 3.20
Rata-rata harga 3.50 ke atas.
Tapi harga lantai padi tetap sama 1300.
Nak jaga kepentingan pengguna 
Masa sama pesawah semakin miskin. 

Yang kaya raya kartel padi dan beras
Tapau abis dari biji benih, racun, baja, beras.

Rakyat marhein ni jual beras sendiri kena saman.
Buat benih sendiri kena saman
Ada mesin padi kena sita
Buat baja sendiri kena kutuk

Wahai bangsaku
Keluarlah dari sistem
Bukalah minda
Kemahiran kita punya
Tanam sendiri
Buat benih sendiri
Proses beras sendiri
Mampu buat baja sendiri

Bersuara itu pedih
Tapi sampai bila kita kena cengkam dengan sistem kartel

Pergi jalan-jalan ke negara jiran
Kebanyakkan masyarakat mandiri
Mereka tidak dicengkam kartel

Tapi siapa kita nak bercakap
Harga beras tak habis2 dikaji
Pi mai pi mai kerajaan nak bantu siapa sebenarnya?
Nak jaga perut pengguna?
Atau cuma nak jaga hati kartel?

 

My Comments :

There is an increasing awareness among the poorer people (especially Malays) that the ordinary people have been given a poor deal in order to keep the  cartels and monopolies in  gold thread and in milk and honey. 

But I was intrigued with these statements :

Rakyat marhein ni jual beras sendiri kena saman.
Buat benih sendiri kena saman
Ada mesin padi kena sita
Buat baja sendiri kena kutuk

I checked the : 

Control of Padi and Rice Act 1994
Act 522
Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 

(http://www.commonlii.org/my/legis/consol_act/copara1994203/)

True enough the Control of Padi Act gives :  POWERS RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT, SEARCH, SEIZURE, ARREST,   ETC.     So indeed there are powers of  SEARCH, SEIZURE, ARREST  over padi and rice  !!

The following are not in this exact order but they are all taken from the same Control of Padi Act.  

 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 522 

• Duties and functions of Director General
• 4. (1) The duties and functions of the Director General shall be as follows:
• (c) to fix maximum or minimum prices of padi or rice;
• (e) to regulate and control the disbursement of subsidies to padi farmers;
• (f) to regulate the marketing of padi and rice particularly through the licensing of wholesalers, retailers, rice millers, importers and exporters;
• (g) to regulate and control the amount of padi or rice that may be kept, stored or possessed by any person;
• (j) to regulate and control the milling of padi into rice including the rate and regularity of milling operations;
• (l) to require persons engaged in the production or marketing of padi and rice to register .. . as the Director General may deem necessary;
• (m) to regulate the production of padi;
• (n) to prohibit, regulate or control the movement of padi or rice

"regulate, control, prohibit, licensing" bla bla.

My Comments :

Rice is our basic food.  Growing, producing and distributing food can be a criminal offence?   How stupid is this?

Please abolish this act. No wonder our padi and rice supply is so messed up.