KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Food security issues including proposals to increase the stockpile of basic foods, the national rice sufficiency rate (SSR) and the floor price of rice purchases, were among topics raised by MPs during the debate on the Supply Bill (Budget 2025) today.
Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal said the government needs to be prepared to face a food crisis in the event of global geopolitical instability by providing a buffer stock of basic food including rice, sugar, fish, chicken, meat, flour, and cooking oil.
At the same time, the government should also consider a strategic body to coordinate the supply of basic food.
“At the moment only rice is given legal provisions to provide a supply stockpile. No agency has yet been held responsible for providing a long-term stockpile for chicken and meat,” he said when debating the bill in the Dewan Rakyat today.
As for the fish buffer stock, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz said the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board has carried out stock storage through the freezing method. However, he feels it needs to be increased because the stock of the basic item is not sufficient to guarantee supply stability and prices during the monsoon season and in the event of a global conflict.
Meanwhile, Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin asked the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (MAFS) to explain the factors that reduced the country’s rice SSR to 56.2 per cent compared to 62 per cent before.
Cha, who is also the Parliament Special Select Committee on Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living, and Agriculture chairman, said this situation caused concern among the people due to the difficulty in obtaining local white rice supplies.
On October 11, the MAFS said Malaysia’s SSR rate was 56.2 per cent based on the new SSR calculation basis in line with the standards set by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim suggested the government increase the base price for a metric tonne of paddy to RM1,800 to compensate for the current increase in the cost of cultivating paddy fields.
In addition, he also suggested that it refrain from floating the price of imported rice so that the price of rice can be stabilised, which will then lead to a decrease in the price of other goods.
The Dewan Rakyat session continues tomorrow.
— Bernama
