Rahmah glasses now available - minister

The Payung Rahmah initiative is now expanding to cover eyewear under the Rahmah Eyeglass Package, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub.

According to a post on his Facebook account, he said the initiative was made possible through cooperation with eyecare provider MOG Eyewear.

Members of the public can purchase eyewear between RM50 and RM100, apart from upgrading the lenses to ‘blue cut lenses’ with ultraviolet radiation protection at a cost of RM100 only.

“This package is available at 96 MOG Eyewear branches nationwide,” he also said.

Payung Rahmah is an initiative to help reduce the cost of living for the lower-income group and hardcore poor with lunch and dinner meals, food baskets, and medical treatment, among others.

Salahuddin added that the initiative will be continued with other attractive offers according to the needs and wishes of Malaysians.

Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub

Meanwhile, an association of paddy farmers known as Pertubuhan Persaudaraan Pesawah Malaysia, or Pesawah, wants the government to provide the subsidy for paddy seeds directly to them.

Pesawah executive council member Abdul Rashid Yob said this would enable farmers to get quality paddy seeds at reasonable prices.

He claimed Kedah farmers have been getting poor-quality seeds for the past four years and similar complaints were raised by farmers in Negeri Sembilan and Penang.

“One of the problems with poor paddy seeds is that seeds that were processed for more than three months will not germinate when soaked in water… and now, with the higher operating costs, it will definitely burden the farmers,” he said.

He said the subsidy is currently given to rice mills.

‘It involves food security’

“What we want is for the government to give the subsidy, either in the form of coupons or cash, directly to the farmers and they make their own choice of where to buy the paddy seeds.

“This way, there will be healthy competition, especially if more parties are given the license to sell the paddy seeds,” told a press conference in Jitra, Kedah, today.

He also advised farmers to cease keeping, sharing, and selling rice seeds among themselves.

Meanwhile, chairperson of the Mada Farmers’ Action Body Che Ani Mat Zain said the decline in paddy crop yield was due to the problem of poor-quality seeds.

“Hence the need for the government to take immediate action by listening to farmers’ complaints because it involves food security,” he said.

- Bernama