March 20 deadline to settle padi, rice prices

  

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at an agricultural stall at the Madani Rakyat fair in Kuala Selangor today. He said the Rahmah Sales and Agro Madani programmes would be stepped up. (Bernama pic)

KUALA SELANGOR: A deadline of March 20 has been set by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the agriculture and food security ministry and the national action council on the cost of living to resolve padi and rice prices.

Anwar said the government requires a bit more time to set a fair price as the interests of both consumers and farmers need to be considered.

“When it comes to the question of policies and setting policies, for example, the padi price, we need some patience to follow the process before deciding. I spoke with Bernas at the recent council meeting asking them to find ways on reducing imported rice and increasing local production.

“They have problems,” he said. A price increase by Bernas, the sole rice importer and wholesaler, will burden consumers. However, not raising the price will burden farmers. “So there is a need to strike a balance because padi farmers are among the poor groups in our country.”

“While people generally want the price of rice to drop or be controlled, padi farmers want their output to be valued,” he said when closing a central zone Madani Rakyat event here today.

To ease the people’s burden pending a resolution to price issues, he has directed the ministry of domestic trade and cost of living to intensify the Rahmah Sales and Agro Madani sales programmes to help bring down prices “because sometimes it is a question of marketing,” he said.

Anwar said the government’s policy decisions were made with the interests of the country and rakyat in mind and were not influenced by any other country.

He said he had emphasised this matter in a report carried by the London-based Financial Times when asked whether Malaysia’s policies were drawn towards China.

“We are friends with all, in the West and East, with the United States and China but no country should try to dictate to us to be friends with this country or not to be friends with that country. This country is independent and sovereign and free to set our own policies,” he added. - FMT