KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has poured cold water on the government’s timeframe to assess initiatives in order to ensure sufficient supply of white rice.
Muhyiddin (PN-Pagoh) said it was impossible to gauge the effectiveness of such initiatives in the space of six months.
“It can’t be done in six months,” he said during the debate on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat.
Earlier today, agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu said the government had approved a RM150 million allocation to ensure sufficient supply of local white rice in the market.
Mohamad said the funds would be used to stabilise supply by producing 24 million 10kg sacks of local white rice and that the ceiling price for the item would be maintained at RM2.60 per kg.
He also said the government would monitor developments over the next six months before deciding on its next course of action.
The issue of local white rice supply has been a growing concern, with stakeholders calling for government measures to address it.
Muhyiddin also proposed for a white paper on the padi industry to be drawn up to ensure sufficient supply of white rice.
He said a white paper would be able to resolve the issue comprehensively.
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