KUALA LUMPUR – The monopoly of the local rice industry and rice imports involving corporate figure Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, who holds most of the shares in Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), needs to be seen in terms of protecting the interests of poor farmers and should not be made a racial issue.
Persatuan Perpaduan Sejahtera Kebangsaan vice-president M. Rathakrishanan said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call for Bernas to give back RM60 million to poor padi farmers should be looked at positively by all, including netizens on social media.
“This issue involves the people and the welfare of padi farmers. For me, making this issue a racial one is very irrelevant,” he said.
He said the issue was raised to ease burdens of padi farmers and enhance their welfare, as most of them are from the B40 group.
“The padi farmers must feel there is a ray of hope because help will be given to them… we very much welcome the help from our prime minister,” he said.
Sharing the same view, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia senior lecturer Muhammad Iqmal Hisham Kamaruddin said that Bernas had a great responsibility towards the industry.
“This company has a high responsibility because it has to buy all the rice from the farmers, regardless of the quality. Although the price varies according to the quality, Bernas still bears the same responsibility,” he said.
He added that Bernas is also responsible to balance the price of imported and local rice.
“As we know, rice from neighbouring countries is sold at a cheaper price. If the government opens the rice industry market (to other companies), maybe new companies will take the initiative to import rice because the quality is high and the price is cheap.
“It is not certain yet that these new companies will take local rice, so there will be an imbalance. Bernas is doing a good thing. The company still takes local rice, even though it can just take imported rice,” he said.
He said that if the rice industry is opened and not monopolised, local farmers producing poor quality rice may face a decrease in sales.
Therefore, he suggested that the government find a new mechanism to offer a win-win for Bernas and the farmers.
Anwar had previously criticised the previous government for its decision to extend Bernas’ concession period for another 10 years from January 11, 2021 to January 10, 2031, which gave it power to monopolise rice imports.
He insisted that the government needed to stop the rice import monopoly and strongly objected to policies benefiting capitalists when the people and padi farmers are in dire straits.
On Monday, Anwar said the government would look into the issue as well as the profits and turnover of Bernas, which Syed Mokhtar owned after he bought 31% of the company’s shares from Tan Sri Tan Boon Seng for about RM800 million and Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s stakes at RM400 million.
Anwar said he had a good discussion on the matter with Syed Mokhtar, who also agreed to give back RM10 million this month and RM50 million next year to the farmers.
The prime minister also said that the issue should not be politicised as it was raised with the aim to help poor padi farmers. – Bernama, December 8, 2022
