Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today denied claims that the proposal for Malaysia Madani white rice would support cartel activities that mix local white rice and imported white rice.
On the contrary, he said, the government’s action is aimed at curbing cartel interference. Regardless, he added that there has been no decision on the matter yet and it will be discussed in more detail in the upcoming National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) meeting.
“No, we are cutting cartel intervention, but we will discuss with NACCOL. No decision (yet),” he told reporters after attending a meet-and-greet session with Maybank staff and the launch of the “myimpact SME HUB” Empowerment Programme at Menara Maybank today.
Also present were Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan; Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na'im Mokhtar; Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister R Ramanan, and Maybank Group chairperson Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said this in response to remarks by Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh, who urged Anwar not to allow the implementation of Malaysia Madani white rice as proposed by Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, claiming that it supports cartel activities.
On Feb 14, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz, who is also the chairperson of NACCOL's Food Cluster Task Force, announced that the government would introduce Madani Malaysian White Rice, which would be sold at RM30 per 10kg sack starting Feb 19, with expectations to hit the market by March 1.
He stated that this meant that there would no longer be categories of local or imported white rice, with Madani Malaysian White Rice as a single category.
- Bernama
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