KUALA LUMPUR: A government backbencher has expressed frustration over the insufficient supply of local white rice in supermarkets.
Pasir Gudang member of parliament Hassan Abdul Karim said that the local white rice price was set at RM2.60 per kilogramme and was unavailable, but imported white rice had continuously dominated the market.
"Despite the significant allocation, these measures do not seem to solve the problem.
"I would also like to ask the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry and its unit, the Padi and Rice Regulatory Division, why is that local white rice is almost unavailable in the market to this day.
"All I could see was imported white rice when I went to the ground yesterday," he said during the 2025 Budget debate in Dewan Rakyat, today.
Hassan said there was also a need for stricter monitoring of the situation.
"Is the imported rice sold in shops and markets actually entirely imported, or is it a mix of local and imported rice? That is what people believe.
"Please answer truthfully. If the answer is yes, say yes, (and) if no, say no.
"What exactly is the division, which has been granted substantial authority under the Control of Padi and Rice Act 1994, doing?
"I urge the ministry, minister as well as the deputy minister to monitor the situation.
"We are the government and I am a government backbencher. We have been in power not for two months or two weeks, but two years, and yet this problem remains unresolved. I am embarrassed.
"Covid-19 is also over and it has been two years since then. Are we still unable to resolve this issue? Are we going to wait 20 years or two more election cycles to fix it?"
Previously, the ministry vowed to investigate serious allegations regarding the manipulation of local white rice production.
The maximum price for local white rice has been fixed at RM2.60 per kg since 2008 to ensure the public can buy rice at an affordable price, following a sharp increase in global rice prices.