KUALA LUMPUR: A Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker told Dewan Rakyat today that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be the prime minister soon, to help resolve farmers' woes.
With a smile, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) said fast forwarding the PKR president’s ascend to the top post would open doors to possible increase of allowance to padi farmers.
“I hope the father to Permatang Pauh (referring to PKR member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar) will become prime minister soon so that these matters (issue of allowance to padi farmers) can be expedited,” Ahmad said to snickers from other MPs.
Earlier, when debating the Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2018, Nurul Izzah said the issue of Padiberas Nasional Bhd’s (Bernas) monopoly was affecting padi farmers in terms of selling their yields.
She urged the government to reestablish Lembaga Padi dan Beras Negara (LPN) to resolve the farmers' woes.
She added that unlike Bernas, LPN previously was not preoccupied with making money but also sought to uphold the farmers’ welfare.
The issue of Anwar becoming prime minister resurfaced recently following claims that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was using PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali to undermine his influence in Pakatan Harapan.
Anwar has since dismissed the speculation.