Review law relating to Bernas to meet Sabah’s needs, state rep urges Putrajaya

The federal government has been urged to review the law relating to Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) to ensure its suitability with the rice industry’s needs in Sabah, the state assembly was told yesterday.

Jasnih Daya (GRS-Pantai Dalit) suggested that Bernas, which has been given the concession to import rice for the needs of the 3.6 million people in Sabah, intensify its partnership with the state government in the local rice production industry here.

He added that the government welcomed any state or federal agency, private enterprises or government subsidiaries that are interested in developing the local rice industry in the state.

"We have been tested by crises repeatedly in the past 20 years, Alhamdulillah, Bernas has the credibility and high reliability in carrying out its duties to ensure there is an adequate supply of rice in the state, is functioning well and remains relevant.

"But this doesn’t mean the state government doesn’t need to explore importing rice into the state on a micro-scale while focusing on planting rice ourselves,” he said when debating the Sabah Budget 2024 at the sitting.

Squatter issue

Meanwhile, Rina Jainal (GRS-Kukusan) suggested that the state government gazette squatter areas with the potential of turning them into registered villages as there were areas where there were mosques and organised waste disposal systems.

Based on the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2021-2025 development plan data, there are 28 squatter colonies with a total population of 16,384 people living in 3,596 houses in Sabah.

"How much can be done with SMJ housing projects with a quota of 20 applicants to each assemblyperson yearly, that’s also with set conditions of owning the land and being under eKasih,” she said.

Rina also asked for the conditions to be fine-tuned by the state cabinet and to provide exemptions for applications so that applicants would not be burdened.

The squatter issue was also brought up by Aliakhbar Gulasan (PAS-appointed assemblyperson) who said that even though Sabah has long-term and short-term plans to tackle the issue, the state government needed to have a zero-squatter target.

He said the squatter issue would hamper the planned development as the land that was occupied illegally belonged to the state government or agency, which was the reason there were many problems, such as electricity and water theft, as well as safety issues.

The issue of squatters was brought up not to instigate demolitions of squatter buildings but to ensure that the development of Sabah was more organised and well-managed.

"I view this issue as having become a very serious problem. I have gotten a written answer to my original question about squatters.

“Congratulations to the government for having a long-term and short-term plan. I just assume that the government will still set a specific dateline to achieve zero squatters,” he added.

- Bernama