KUCHING: Miri MP Chiew Choon Man has called on the federal government, through the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living to focus on Sarawak and provide flexibility in implementing the ‘Jualan Rahmah’ programme.
He said this should be used as a short-term measure, following the increase in the price of imported rice since the beginning of this month which caused severe implications for the people of Sarawak, especially the B40 group.
“Local rice in Sarawak is not price-controlled and cannot be produced on a large scale, making it generally more expensive compared to imported rice.
“I suggest that supermarkets or stores participating in ‘Jualan Rahmah’ programme to allow use of all or a significant portion of the subsidies provided by the Ministry to sell rice at a discount of 20 – 30 per cent,” said Chiew in a statement yesterday in connection with his debate speech on the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (MTR-12MP).
As for the long-term solution, where one of the initiatives within the 12MP is in regards to expanding the size of economic sector farms, he further called on the government to help Sarawak achieve its self-sufficiency level (SSL) of paddy, so as not to rely on imported rice.
“This way, we will have the ability to control rice prices at a level affordable to our entire population,” he added.
