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KOTA KINABALU : Parti Warisan has expressed its concern about the decision by Asia’s top food producers, Vietnam and India to limit their rice exports to other countries, which may result in a gradual increase on price of rice in Sabah over the next two years.
According to the party’s Member of Parliament for Kota Belud, Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis, it is then imperative for the State Government to give full priority on Sabah’s rice self sufficiency level (SSL) agenda that currently lies between 21-23% and to achieve the target at 70% by 2025 to reduce rice dependency from other states or countries.
“On 15 June 2023, the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Food Security had replied in Dewan Rakyat my question the effect by Vietnam reducing its rice exportation and he confirmed it that rice supply in the country will not be affected since Malaysia will still be importing rice from India, Thailand, Pakistan and other Asian countries.
But this month, India had decided to reduce its rice exportation too and our concern is that, with climate change unleashing its effect of alternating severe drought and huge flooding in the Asia region that could potentially disrupt paddy yield, other traditional Asian rice exporter countries may also decide to reduce their export of rice.
Warisan believe that if rice supply in the country remain at 70% (local)/30% (import) and imported rice starts to register trend in sharp price increase, then millions of Malaysians will shift to the cheaper local rice (70%) and this will cause the supply/demand mechanism to push the price of rice in Sabah.
Two days ago, the Department of Statistic Malaysia (DOSM) had released its monthly Consumer Price Index for June 2023 and stated that the price of rice in Sabah is averaged at RM29.73 (10kg SST 5%) and if no concrete action is taken on our rice SSL agenda, then don’t be surprised if the price will soar to RM35.00 or higher (10kg SST 5%) in a span of one or two years,” she said.
“And the most hit groups will be the retirees, single mothers, those with irregular incomes and middle/low income categories living in cities and urban areas who are already been overburdened by high cost of living,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, Datuk Darell Leiking, Deputy President of Warisan, stated that it is critical that the GRS-State Government focuses on the basics before moving from one proposal or announcement to another in the coalition’s attempt to appease the Sabahans amid the chaotic mismanagement.
“Three years in power and there is no focus or priority to solve the high cost of living, PTI/foreign traders issues, dilapidated schools/health clinics in rural areas, roads and infrastructures, water and electricity supplies, connectivity, and now food security, but what we hear are proposals to relocate the KKIA and open two new industrial parks.
How can we expect to attract reputable foreign and domestic investors if we have the poorest investment enablers in the country? And hopping from one proposal (or announcement) to the next in order to create the ‘development placebo effect’ that Sabah is moving forward is useless because what the average Sabahans experience on a daily basis is completely the other way round.
And consider Sarawak – even though its rice SSL stood at 51%, the State is still pushing hard to achieve the 60% target, which is the comfortable level. And I believe, once Sarawak had past the target, it can then choose whether to sell their excess (rice) to Sabah or not,” he explained it.
“This is why when Warisan took over in 2018, our immediate agenda was to strengthen the basic and to regain control, hence we established our own State Education and Health Ministries, our effort to regain gas control and SESB, food security through the State’s Agriculture Blueprint, fair land allotment to the Indigenous, and so on.
Warisan had demonstrated it for 22 months that with assertive leadership and corruption-free administration, we can control our own socioeconomic direction. This is not hog-wash – there are several former WarisanPlus YBs and grassroot leaders now with GRS who can validate this matter because they themselves were once given the opportunities to assist in this agenda,” he concluded.
