PM: I am chided for helping rice farmers, but they kiss tycoon's hands

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that he was criticised by several politicians for asking an entrepreneur to help poor rice farmers.

“But when that entrepreneur pays millions in political funds, they (the politicians) kiss his hands,” he said during his speech at the launch of MRT Putrajaya Line at the Serdang MRT depot this morning.

The prime minister was referring to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, the owner of Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), who had to channel RM60 million of his profits to rice farmers.

Citing Albukhary Foundation as an example, Anwar stated that the country needed a more transparent procurement system.

“While he (Syed Mokhtar) can give a political party RM200 million, I’ve asked him to give back RM60 million to the rice farmers.

“But some people were not happy with that, saying I was unfairly targeting a Malay businessperson,” the prime minister alleged.

Anwar initially proposed the idea of Bernas sharing its profits with its rice farmers last July while he was still the opposition leader.

After being appointed as prime minister, he reprimanded the tycoon over the company's monopoly on rice imports.

At the time, he said Syed Mokhtar would immediately allocate RM10 million to the farmers by December 2022 and an additional RM50 million by this year.

Syed Mokhtar controls 92 percent of Bernas' shares, which he acquired in 2014 from Shahidan Kassim and businessperson Tan Boon Seng.

Anwar said he understood that Syed Mokhtar may still have some residual payments to make, but vowed that his government would not allow politicians and their associates to hog the wealth and "suck the blood" of poor rice farmers. - Mkini