31 May 2008

Continue subsidies: Economist

Mechanism has helped negate the worst for the poor who otherwise would feel the impact badly

KUALA LUMPUR: Several months ago, Rafidah Salleh only needed to spend around RM100 to buy groceries for a week-long requirement for her family of six, but now the amount has gradually increased to RM120 and it is expected to rise further.

“I go to the same shop for years to buy essentials such as meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, sugar, flour, milk, bread and eggs but of late it has been getting more expensive.

“But what can I do, I still have to buy groceries to cook for my family,” lamented the 43-year-old mother of four children from Ampang.

She is not alone.

Her predicament is shared by others.

According to economists and consumer associations, Malaysians may have to pay even more for

goods in coming the months if fuel price in the global market continues to soar.

A senior economist at Bank Islam Malaysia Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin said eventhough fuel prices were subsidised, Malaysians would still feel the impact as indicated in last month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) which registered an overall hike of about three per cent.

“Three per cent was for all goods but for food alone the average increase was 5.8 per cent and it

will continue to go up if fuel

prices continue to surge,” he told Bernama.

He said though the prices of some essential items were subsidised by the government, consumers would still feel the pinch, especially low-income earners.

“It is estimated that consumers from the low-income group spend 40 to 50 per cent of their monthly salary to buy food items.

“If one earns less than RM1,000 a month and about RM500 of it is spent on food, what about other expenses?” he asked.

Azrul explained that despite no change in fuel prices in the country, importers, producers, manufacturers and suppliers still passed on their rising cost down the supply chain which trickled down to consumers.

Hence, he said, the government should continue to pay subsidies, be it for fuel or essential items, for the time being as the mechanism had helped negate the worst for the poor.

“Though it will cause a bigger dent in the government’s budget, at least the people will bear lesser impact.

“Given the current situation, if the government slashes subsidies, I’ve no doubt we will have a price crisis unless the government comes up with strategies to avoid this,” he said.

Azrul suggested the government review all development projects and prioritise them accordingly to “cover the deep hole in its coffers” caused by increased subsidies.

“It should make a thorough review for every mega project the government has planned, launched or implemented and evaluate its impact on the people, then reconsider whether it can be deferred.

“Then reallocate the budget for subsidies.

“It’s a radical move, but given the current scenario, it’s a temporary solution,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last month the government would review all Ninth Malaysia Plan projects owing to rising costs.

He, however, assured the people the government would not sacrifice “people-centred” infrastructure and development projects that would benefit the masses, especially the poor.

Last week, global oil price surged to US$138 per barrel and based on this Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said the government would have to review subsidies given to fuel and essential goods.

The government had previously estimated that RM56 billion would be spent on subsidies this year.

Following Najib’s announcement, many groups were worried of another round of fuel price hike which would further worsen inflation.

Another economist, Senator Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Mohd Salleh, told Bernama it was not impossible for the government to reduce subsidies and at the same time ease some of the burden to people who could ill-afford it.

“The government can introduce a system or a mechanism that benefits only people who really need it, maybe by giving coupons and food stamps.

“Some of these methods are being implemented in developed nations to help the poor,” he said.

Another way, according to Dr Ismail is by liberalising the market for controlled items and let more people to import and produce price-controlled items such as sugar, flour and rice and letting the market control the prices.

Fomca chief executive officer Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the consumer body believed prices of goods, especially food, could be controlled if the government gave subsidies directly to farmers and other food producers.

“Agriculture is a costly business and this is made worse by the fact that most of our farmers are small-scale.

“So, if the government subsidises, for example, fuel for their machinery, it will help lower the production cost.

“Or subsidise the price of the machinery and make it affordable for these farmers to buy it which will help increase their productivity,” he said.

Sha’ani said although consumers were paying more for their essentials now, it did not benefit food producers like farmers and padi planters who were low-income earners.

He opined that the current practice of giving subsidies to end-users did not serve its purpose to help the poor as it benefited all, the rich and the poor.

Sha’ani however pointed out that regardless of the steps taken by the government to control today’s inflation, at the end of the day it was smart consumerism that would help Malaysians “weather” the situation.

“Now is the time for us to practise smart consumerism.

“Differentiate what you need and what you want.

* NASIONAL

Fomca lawat Balai Berita
Oleh Amin Ridzuan Ishak

BEKERJASAMA: Hishamuddin meneliti cenderahati yang disampaikan Muhammad Sha'ani diperhatikan Syed Nadzri (kanan), Mohd Yusuf, Abdul Ghafar (empat dari kanan) dan Zainuddin Ayip.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bagi mewujudkan hubungan baik dengan media serta bekerjasama dalam memberi manfaat kepada pengguna, pengurusan tertinggi Gabungan Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (Fomca) mengadakan lawatan ke Balai Berita, The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad (NSTP), di sini, baru-baru ini.

Lawatan yang diketuai Ketua Eksekutif Fomca, Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, turut disertai Pengarah Komunikasi Gabungan Fomca, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman dan Pengarah Komunikasi Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kajian Pengguna Malaysia (Era Consumer Malaysia), Liew Siew Hui.

Lawatan itu bertujuan menjalin hubungan dengan akhbar di bawah syarikat ini, Berita Harian, Harian Metro dan New Straits Times (NST) bagi membentuk jaringan padu untuk kebajikan, kepentingan serta hal-ehwal pengguna.

Sesi dialog turut diadakan dengan Ketua Pengarang Kumpulan NSTP, Datuk Hishamuddin Aun menjelaskan mengenai operasi dan aktiviti syarikat ini manakala Fomca pula menjelaskan fungsinya sebagai pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO).

Fomca turut memaklumkan mengenai kempen terbarunya, 'Kempen Pengguna Kebangsaan', yang akan dijalankan dengan kerjasama Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs), Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM) dan Majlis Kebangsaan Pertubuhan Wanita (NCWO), mulai Jun depan.

Turut hadir, Pengarang Kumpulan NST, Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun; Pengarang Eksekutif Harian Metro/Metro Ahad, Abdul Ghafar Ismail dan Pengarang Eksekutif (Rencana) Berita Harian, Zainuddin Ayip.

General

May 30, 2008 11:26 AM

Government Should Continue Subsidies, Says Economist

By Noor Hayati Muda KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Several months ago, Rafidah Salleh only need to spend around RM100 to buy a week's supply of groceries for her family of six, but now the amount has gradually increased to RM120 and it is expected to rise further. "I go to the same shop for years to buy essentials such as meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, sugar, flour, milk, bread and eggs but of late it has been getting more expensive. "But what can I do, I still have to buy groceries to cook for my family," lamented the 43-year-old mother of four children from Ampang. She is not alone. Her predicament is shared by others. According to economists and consumer associations, Malaysians may have to pay even more for goods in coming months if fuel price in the global market continues to soar. A senior economist at Bank Islam Malaysia Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin said eventhough fuel prices are subsidised, Malaysians will still feel the impact as indicated in last month's Consumer Price Index (CPI) which registered an overall hike of about three per cent. "Three per cent was for all goods but for food alone the average increase was 5.8 per cent and it will continue to go up if fuel prices continue to surge," he told Bernama. He said though the prices of some essential items are subsidised by the government, consumers will still feel the pinch, especially low-income earners. "It is estimated that consumers from the low-income group spend about 40 to 50 per cent of their monthly salary to buy food items. If one earns less than RM1,000 a month and about RM500 of it is spent on food, what about other expenses?" he asked. Azrul explained that despite no change in fuel prices in the country, importers, producers, manufacturers and suppliers still passed on their rising cost down the supply chain which trickled down to consumers. Hence, he said, the government should continue to pay subsidies, be it for fuel or essential items, for the time being as the mechanism had helped negate the worst for the poor. "Though it will cause a bigger dent in the government's budget, at least the people will bear lesser impact. Given the current situation, if the government slashes subsidies, I've no doubt we will have a price crisis unless the government comes up with strategies to avoid this," he said. Azrul suggested the government reviewed all development projects and prioritise them accordingly to "cover the deep hole in its coffers" caused by increased subsidies. "It should make a thorough review for every mega project the government has planned, launched or implemented and evaluate its impact on the people, then reconsider whether it can be deferred. "Then reallocate the budget for subsidies. It's a radical move, but given the current scenario, it's a temporary solution," he said. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last month the government would review all Ninth Malaysia Plan projects owing to rising costs. He, however, assured the people the government would not sacrifice "people-centred" infrastructure and development projects that would benefit the masses, especially the poor. Last week, global oil price surged to US$138 (RM449) per barrel and based on this Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said the government would have to review subsidies given to fuel and essential goods. The government had previously estimated that RM56 billion would be spent on subsidies this year. Following Najib's announcement, many groups were worried of another round of fuel price hike which would further worsen inflation. Another economist, Senator Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Mohd Salleh, told Bernama it was not impossible for the government to reduce subsidies and at the same time ease some of the burden to people who could ill-afford it. "The government can introduce a system or a mechanism that benefits only people who really need it, maybe by giving coupons and food stamps. Some of these methods are being implemented in developed nations to help the poor," he said. Another way, according to Dr Ismail is by liberalising the market for controlled items and let more people to import and produce price-controlled items such as sugar, flour and rice and letting the market control the prices. Fomca chief executive officer Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the consumer body believes prices of goods, especially food, could be controlled if the government gave subsidies directly to farmers and other food producers. "Agriculture is a costly business and this is made worse by the fact that most of our farmers are small-scale. So, if the government subsidises, for example, fuel for their machinery, it will help lower the production cost. "Or subsidise the price of the machinery and make it affordable for these farmers to buy it which will help increase their productivity," he said. Sha'ani said although consumers are paying more for their essentials now, it did not benefit food producers like farmers and padi planters who are low-income earners. He opined that the current practice of giving subsidies to end-users did not serve its purpose to help the poor as it benefited all, the rich and the poor. Muhammad Sha'ani however pointed out that regardless of the steps taken by the government to control today's inflation, at the end of the day it was smart consumerism that would help Malaysians "weather" the situation. "Now is the time for us to practise smart consumerism. Differentiate what you need and what you want. "Buy only the necessities and spend less on what you want but can do without," advised Muhammad Sha'ani, adding that the government could only intervene to a certain point. -- BERNAMA

2008/05/30

BANK ISLAM ECONOMIST: Subsidies should continue

Noor Hayati Muda, BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR, FRI:

Several months ago, Rafidah Salleh only need to spend around R100 to buy groceries for a week-long requirement for her family of six, but now the amount has gradually increased to RM120 and it is expected to rise further.

“I go to the same shop for years to buy essentials such as meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, sugar, flour, milk, bread and eggs but of late it has been getting more expensive.

“But what can I do, I still have to buy groceries to cook for my family,” lamented the 43-year-old mother of four children from Ampang.

She is not alone. Her predicament is shared by others. According to economists and consumer associations, Malaysians may have to pay even more for goods in coming months if fuel price in the global market continues to soar.

A senior economist at Bank Islam Malaysia Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin said eventhough fuel prices are subsidised, Malaysians will still feel the impact as indicated in last month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) which registered an overall hike of about three per cent.
“Three per cent was for all goods but for food alone the average increase was 5.8 per cent and it will continue to go up if fuel prices continue to surge,” he told Bernama.

He said though the prices of some essential items are subsidised by the government, consumers will still feel the pinch, especially low-income earners.

“It is estimated that consumers from the low-income group spend 40 to 50 per cent of their monthly salary to buy food items. If one earns less than RM1,000 a month and about RM500 of it is spent on food, what about other expenses?” he asked.

Azrul explained that despite no change in fuel prices in the country, importers, producers, manufacturers and suppliers still passed on their rising cost down the supply chain which trickled down to consumers.

Hence, he said, the government should continue to pay subsidies, be it for fuel or essential items, for the time being as the mechanism had helped negate the worst for the poor.

“Though it will cause a bigger dent in the government’s budget, at least the people will bear lesser impact. Given the current situation, if the government slashes subsidies, I’ve no doubt we will have a price crisis unless the government comes up with strategies to avoid this,” he said.

Azrul suggested the government reviewed all development projects and prioritise them accordingly to “cover the deep hole in its coffers” caused by increased subsidies.

“It should make a thorough review for every mega project the government has planned, launched or implemented and evaluate its impact on the people, then reconsider whether it can be deferred.

“Then reallocate the budget for subsidies. It’s a radical move, but given the current scenario, it’s a temporary solution,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last month the government would review all Ninth Malaysia Plan projects owing to rising costs.

He, however, assured the people the government would not sacrifice
“people-centred” infrastructure and development projects that would benefit the masses, especially the poor.

Last week, global oil price surged to US$138 (RM449) per barrel and based on this Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said the government would have to review subsidies given to fuel and essential goods.

The government had previously estimated that RM56 billion would be spent on subsidies this year.

Following Najib’s announcement, many groups were worried of another round of fuel price hike which would further worsen inflation.

Another economist, Senator Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Mohd Salleh, told Bernama it was not impossible for the government to reduce subsidies and at the same time ease some of the burden to people who could ill-afford it.

“The government can introduce a system or a mechanism that benefits only people who really need it, maybe by giving coupons and food stamps. Some of these methods are being implemented in developed nations to help the poor,” he said.

Another way, according to Dr Ismail is by liberalising the market for controlled items and let more people to import and produce price-controlled items such as sugar, flour and rice and letting the market control the prices.

Fomca chief executive officer Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the consumer body believes prices of goods, especially food, could be controlled if the government gave subsidies directly to farmers and other food producers.

“Agriculture is a costly business and this is made worse by the fact that most of our farmers are small-scale. So, if the government subsidises, for example, fuel for their machinery, it will help lower the production cost.

“Or subsidise the price of the machinery and make it affordable for these farmers to buy it which will help increase their productivity,” he said.

Sha’ani said although consumers are paying more for their essentials now, it did not benefit food producers like farmers and padi planters who are low-income earners.

He opined that the current practice of giving subsidies to end-users did not serve its purpose to help the poor as it benefited all, the rich and the poor.

Muhammad Sha’ani however pointed out that regardless of the steps taken by the government to control today’s inflation, at the end of the day it was smart consumerism that would help Malaysians “weather” the situation.

“Now is the time for us to practise smart consumerism. Differentiate what you need and what you want.

“Buy only the necessities and spend less on what you want but can do without,” advised Muhammad Sha’ani, adding that the government could only intervene to a certain point.

Fomca lawat NSTP

KUALA LUMPUR: Bagi mewujudkan hubungan baik dengan media serta bekerjasama dalam memberikan manfaat kepada pengguna, pengurusan tertinggi Gabungan Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (Fomca) mengadakan lawatan ke Balai Berita, The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad (NSTP), di sini, semalam.

Lawatan dikepalai Ketua Eksekutif Fomca, Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah, turut disertai Pengarah Komunikasi Gabungan Fomca, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman dan Pengarah Komunikasi Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kajian Pengguna Malaysia (ERA Consumer Malaysia), Liew Siew Hui.

Lawatan itu bertujuan menjalin hubungan dengan media terdiri akhbar Berita Harian, Harian Metro dan New Straits Times (NST), di samping membentuk jaringan padu untuk kebajikan, kepentingan serta hal ehwal pengguna.

Sesi dialog turut diadakan bersama pengurusan kanan NSTP diketuai Ketua Pengarang Kumpulan NSTP, Datuk Hishamuddin Aun mengenai aktiviti dan program pengguna di bawah pengelolaan Fomca serta fungsi dan kepentingan media membantu usaha ini dijalankan.

Hadir sama, Pengarang Kumpulan NST, Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun; Pengarang Eksekutif Harian Metro/Metro Ahad, Abdul Ghafar Ismail dan Pengarang Eksekutif (Rencana) Berita Harian, Zainuddin Ayip.

2008/05/28

Food Watch: Consumer campaign kicks off next month

By : Laviinia Dhanagunan

Fomca chief executive Sha'ani Abdullah (left) briefing Datuk Hishamuddin Aun on some Fomca publications. The others are Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun (right), Abdul Ghafar Ismail (fourth from right), Zainuddin Ayip (third from right) and Fomca communications director Yusof Rahman.

Friday May 23, 2008

Government mulls over move to ease LDP congestion

By SIM LEOI LEOI and BRIAN MARTIN

KUALA LUMPUR: Lower toll for using the highway during off-peak hours – that is one of the options the Government is considering to ease the congestion on the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP).

Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said with lower toll, users would be encouraged to stagger their journeys and lessen the congestion during peak hours.

“For instance, drivers will be given rebates if they leave earlier in the morning for work,” he said Thursday during Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat here.

He was replying to a question by Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian. Hee said that despite having to pay RM1.60 toll, motorists complained that the highway was congested.

When contacted later, Mohd Zin said having peak and off-peak toll rates was one of three options the ministry was looking at to solve the congestion problem of the LDP.

Another option the ministry was looking at was the implementation of a “multilane toll collection system” where vehicles did not need to stop to pay toll, he said.

“A lot of congestion was caused by cars slowing down when they need to pay toll. With the multilane system which uses infrared rays like the one used in Australia, cars can maintain their speed,” he said.

Mohd Zin said the last option was the “realignment” of the LDP.

However, he said this was a “last resort” because realignment would incur very high costs due to land acquisition.

Mohd Zin said the proposals were part of the ministry’s review of the country’s privatised expressways.

He said he was giving the LDP a lot of attention because it was one of the most congested among privatised expressways.

“The LDP’s volume is very high and many motorists have complained about congestion,” he said.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca), however, felt that the suggestion to lower toll rates during off-peak hours for those using the LDP was not practical.

Its secretary-general Muhammad Shaani Abdullah said traffic woes would not be solved by lowering tolls during off-peak hours.

“We cannot expect the people to leave for work at 5am and get home at 2am.

“It just does not make sense. What we need is proper traffic management and better enforcement,” he said.

Mohd Zin also told the Dewan Rakyat that from 1999 until 2006, the Government paid some RM480.54mil to subsidise toll on the LDP as drivers were paying RM1 when it should have been RM1.50.

“From Jan 1, 2007, the Government paid out about RM150mil in subsidy when the toll was RM1.60 when it should have been RM2.10,” he said.

Mohd Zin said the Government did not pay any subsidy for the New Pantai Expressway because its toll rates have never been restructured.

Sunday May 18, 2008

Hard times call for revival of Green Book plan

WHEN launching the Green Book Programme (popularly known as Rancangan Buku Hijau) in 1974, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein said it was one of the positive steps to help the public overcome problems caused by inflation.

The main objective of the programme was to increase the production of food by encouraging people to plant and grow their own food crops.

In view of the current rise in prices of food, Federation of Malaysia Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah has proposed that the programme be revived to encourage the public to carry out backyard farming, hydroponics planting and organic farming.

Sha’ani, a former employee of the Agriculture Ministry, says the programme fizzled out when the Malaysian economy grew and people had more money to buy food.

“This kind of programme should be encouraged all the time. When the leaders changed, so did the priorities,” he adds.

The Federation of Malaysian Growers Association (PPSM) recently said that Malaysia produced 700,000 metric tonnes of vegetables every year – of which 170,000 tonnes are exported to Singapore.

To cover Malaysia’s needs, 500,000 tonnes of vegetables were imported. Prices of vegetables have increased recently as a result of bad weather and rising prices of fertiliser.

“We have to accept that prices are not going to come down anytime soon,” says Sha’ani, who adds that Fomca plans to distribute vegetable seeds for a nominal fee.

According to Datuk Ramini Gurusamy, Deputy President of the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO), schools through their consumer clubs should encourage green lifestyles by having students plant vegetables and decorative plants.

“In fact, one way to reach parents is through children,” she says.

Ramini admits that times have changed since 1974 and some strategies are not relevant now.

“Land use patterns, lifestyles and living conditions are not the same anymore. We are becoming more urbanised with more people living in high-rise buildings. People will have to make use of every space that is available,” she says. – By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI

Malaysia: M'sia Offers To Swop Palm Oil For Rice

BERNAMA : General

---

May 15, 2008 17:27 PM

Market Manipulation Of Rice Must Be Checked, Says Fomca

By Syed Azwan Syed Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- While climate change and export policies of rice producing countries have been said to be the cause of the shortage of the important commodity, the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) feels that market manipulation in the supply chain has aggravated the problem in the country.

Fomca chief executive Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the current supply situation was similiar to that of what was happening to crude oil, it provided manipulators the opportunity to engage in profiteering.

In the Malaysian context, there might be some wholesalers who took advantage of the situation to hike their prices to retailers, thus causing a snowballing effect, he told Bernama.

He said other forms of manipulation included hoarding and smuggling, all with the aim of "fishing in troubled waters".

Muhammad Sha'ani said he hoped enforcement agencies would step up efforts to tackle the problem so that the situation can be stabilised.

World rice prices have shot up by 175 per cent from USD327 (RM1,069) per tonne last year, to USD900 (RM2,943) per tonne in February this year.

In Malaysia, the Super Special Tempatan (SST) 15 variety, which is the general choice of the public, is a controlled item and retails at a maximum of RM1.80 a kilogramme.

Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), which controls the rice industry in Malaysia, said the rise in world prices had caused a wide disparity in the retail price of imported white rice (IWR) compared to SST 15, which give ample room to certain quarters to engage in manipulative activities.

Bernas is also the sole rice importer ion the country.

In a briefing to the media yesterday, its managing director Bakry Hamzah said the company was still supplying wholesalers IWR at RM1,450 per tonne, unchanged since April 2007, to ensure its price did not spike in the market.

But on the ground, the story is somewhat different.

"The prices are shooting up, even by up to RM1 a kilo. Previously the SST 10 variety (a higher grade than SST 15) sold at RM12.50 for five kilos but now the price has risen to RM17.50," lamented housewife Zaini Razak.

With the prices of even the higher grades of rice spiralling out of control at the retail level, many consumers who previously opted for the better grades, now have turned to the lower ones, creating imbalances in the supply chain.

Bakry put the blame on private millers saying they had reduced output in anticipation that a price increase would be allowed by the government in view of the supply situation.

Bernas, he said, only had a 45 per cent market share for the commodity while the private millers controlled the balance. There are 204 millers and 1,239 licensed wholesalers for rice in the country.

Matters have taken a turn for the worse, with many consumers complaining lower grades are being mixed with higher ones and retailed at the prices of the latter.

Meanwhile, an economist, Prof Dr Mansor Jusoh, said existing regulations on the supply and pricing should be reviewed and new measures implemented so that the people are not unnecessarily burdened.

"Wholesalers should not be allowed to collude among themselves to fix the prices (for the various grades of rice) as this makes them operate like a cartel. Such a situation will not be allowed in advanced countries," he said when met at his office in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Bangi near here.

He added that it would be better to let market forces dictate the prices instead.

-- BERNAMA

Rakyat makin tertekan jika harga barang terus melambung

KUALA LUMPUR 30 Mei - Beberapa bulan lalu, Rafidah Salleh hanya perlu berbelanja kira-kira RM100 untuk membeli barang-barang runcit bagi keperluan seminggu bagi keluarga enam orang, tetapi sejak itu perbelanjaan sentiasa meningkat kepada RM120 dan ini dijangka meningkat lagi.

"Saya pergi ke kedai yang sama sejak beberapa tahun untuk membeli barang keperluan asas seperti daging, ayam, ikan, sayur-sayuran, gula, tepung, susu, roti dan telur, tetapi kebelakangan ini harganya kian bertambah mahal.

"Tetapi apa yang saya boleh buat? Saya terpaksa beli barang-barang runcit ini untuk dimasak bagi keluarga saya," kata seorang ibu berusia 43 tahun dari Ampang di sini.

Keadaan ini turut dikongsi bersama oleh ramai yang lain dan menurut pakar Ekonomi dan Persatuan Pengguna, rakyat Malaysia mungkin berbelanja lebih banyak pada bulan akan datang jika harga bahan api di pasaran dunia terus meningkat.

Ahli Ekonomi Kanan Bank Islam Malaysia, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin berkata, sungguhpun harga bahan api diberikan subsidi, rakyat Malaysia masih merasakan kesan seperti yang ditunjukkan pada Indeks Harga pengguna (CPI) bulan lepas yang mencatatkan keseluruhan peningkatan pada kira-kira tiga peratus.

"Tiga peratus ialah untuk semua barang, tetapi bagi barang makanan sahaja, kadar peningkatan ialah 5.8 peratus dan ia akan terus meningkat jika harga bahan api melonjak," katanya.

Beliau berkata, sungguhpun sesetengah barang keperluan diberikan subsidi oleh kerajaan, pengguna masih lagi merasakan kesan kenaikan terutamanya bagi mereka yang dalam kumpulan berpendapatan rendah.

"Dianggarkan pengguna daripada kumpulan berpendapatan rendah membelanjakan 40 hingga 50 peratus gaji bulanan mereka untuk membeli barang makanan. Jika seseorang itu berpendapatan kurang RM1,000 sebulan dan kira-kira RM500 daripadanya dibelanjakan untuk makanan, apa lagi dengan perbelanjaan lain," katanya.

Azrul menjelaskan, walaupun tidak ada perubahan pada harga bahan api di pasaran tempatan, tetapi pengimport, pengeluar, pembuat dan pembekal mengenakan rantaian kenaikan kos yang akhirnya akan pergi kepada pengguna.

Sehubungan itu, Azrul berkata, kerajaan hendaklah terus membayar subsidi, sama ada untuk bahan api atau barang keperluan buat masa ini kerana mekanisme itu telah mengurangkan bebanan kepada orang miskin.

"Walaupun ia membabitkan perbelanjaan besar dalam bajet kerajaan, sekurang-kurangnya orang ramai akan hanya mengalami kesan yang sedikit. Dengan keadaan ini, jika kerajaan mengurangkan subsidi itu, saya tidak ragu-ragu bahawa kita akan menghadapi krisis harga, melainkan kerajaan boleh mewujudkan satu strategi untuk mengelakkan ini," kata beliau.

Azrul mencadangkan, kerajaan mengkaji semula semua projek pembangunan dan keutamaan yang sepatutnya, dengan berjimat-jimat disebabkan peningkatan dalam subsidi.

"Buat kajian menyeluruh untuk setiap projek mega kerajaan yang telah dirancang, dilancar atau dilaksana dan nilai impaknya terhadap orang ramai, kemudian timbang semula sama ada ia boleh ditangguh pada suatu masa.

"Kemudian alih bajet untuk subsidi. Ia satu langkah yang radikal tetapi buat masa ini, ia adalah penyelesaian sementara," kata beliau.

Bulan lepas, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi membuat kenyataan bahawa kerajaan akan mengkaji semua projek di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan (RMK-9) disebabkan kenaikan kos, bagaimanapun beliau memberikan jaminan bahawa mereka tidak akan mengorbankan infrastruktur dan pembangunan yang akan memanfaatkan orang ramai, terutamanya orang miskin.

Minggu lepas, harga minyak di pasaran mencecah AS$138 setong dan berdasarkan ini Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak telah menyatakan bahawa kerajaan terpaksa mengkaji semula subsidi yang diberikan untuk bahan api dan barang keperluan.

Kerajaan sebelum ini menganggarkan sejumlah RM56 bilion akan dibelanjakan untuk subsidi pada tahun ini.

Berikutan dengan kenyataan Najib, sesetengah pihak bimbang bahawa harga bahan api akan naik yang akan memburukkan lagi keadaan inflasi.

Seorang lagi pakar ekonomi, Senator Prof. Datuk Dr. Ismail Md. Salleh memberitahu, kerajaan tidak mungkin mengurangkan subsidi dan pada masa yang sama meringankan sesetengah kesan kepada orang ramai yang tidak berkemampuan.

"Kerajaan boleh memperkenalkan satu sistem atau mekanisme yang memanfaatkan hanya mereka yang memerlukannya, mungkin dengan memberikan kupon dan pelekat makanan. Sesetengah cara ini dilaksanakan di negara maju untuk membantu orang miskin," kata beliau.

Satu cara lagi, menurut Ismail ialah dengan memberikan kelonggaran pasaran bagi barang kawalan dan membolehkan lebih ramai mengimport serta mengeluarkan harga barang kawalan seperti gula, tepung, beras dan menjadikan pasaran mengawal harga.

- Bernama

Sementara itu, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif FOMCA Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah berkata, persatuan itu percaya bahawa harga barang, terutamanya makanan boleh dikawal jika kerajaan memberikan subsidi terus kepada petani dan pengeluar makanan lain.

"Pertanian adalah perniagaan yang berharga, dan ini bertambah teruk lagi kerana kebanyakan petani mengusahakan pertanian secara kecil-kecilan. Jadi, jika kerajaan memberikan subsidi, sebagai contoh untuk bahan api bagi jentera mereka akan membantu mengurangkan kos pengeluaran.

"Atau beri subsidi terhadap harga jentera itu dan menjadikannya dalam kemampuan petani ini untuk membelinya yang akan membantu meningkatkan produktiviti mereka," kata beliau.

Muhammad Sha'ani berkata, sungguhpun pengguna kini membelanjakan lebih banyak untuk barangan mereka, ia tidak memberikan manfaat kepada pengeluar makanan seperti petani dan penanam padi yang merupakan golongan berpendapatan rendah.

Beliau juga berpendapat, bahawa amalan sekarang dengan memberikan subsidi kepada pengguna akhirnya, tidak akan memberikan makna untuk membantu orang miskin, kerana ia hanya memberikan manfaat kepada semua, kaya dan miskin.

Katanya, walau apa pun langkah yang diambil oleh kerajaan untuk mengawal inflasi sekarang, pada akhirnya kepenggunaan bijak yang akan membantu rakyat Malaysia untuk mengatasi situasi ini.

"Kini tiba masanya untuk kita mengamalkan kepenggunaan bijak. Bezakan apa yang anda perlukan dan yang anda mahukan. Beli hanya yang perlu dan kurangkan perbelanjaan untuk apa yang anda mahu tetapi boleh tanpanya," nasihat Muhammad Sha'ani sambil menambah bahawa kerajaan hanya boleh campur tangan dengan ini.

- Bernama

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Rice price hike a lesson for all?

Careful measures needed to prevent Malaysia from being dragged into global food crisis: Fomca

KUALA LUMPUR: Whenever there is a price hike for rice, among the questions that linger in the mind of consumers is why Malaysia is not among the globe’s major rice producers.

And, what do world’s top rice producers Thailand and Vietnam have that Malaysia does not have?

There are several answers to these questions.

A major contributing factor to this debacle is Malaysia’s policy when it focused on industrialisation.

When there is a jump in the global price of this commodity, the nation’s leaders have switched their attention towards boosting the country’s rice production.

The Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry is eyeing to push the country’s rice production from the current 72 per cent to 80-90 per cent in the coming seasons.

This decision is hoped to reduce the country’s dependency on imported rice.

It was reported that Malaysia annually imports 30 per cent of its rice needs, or about 700,000 tonnes with most of this commodity coming from Thailand and Vietnam.

Rice is categorised as a strategic security commodity since it is the staple food for Malaysians.

Local consumers have every reason to be concerned when there is a global price hike of rice, as they would face uncertainties in the market price and supply of this commodity.

Lately, the rice price is steadily on the rise.

“Before, I used to buy a 5kg bag of rice at RM16.50, but now the price is RM18.50. For 10kg, the price is RM37 now as compared to RM35 previously, a jump of RM2,” said a housewife who wished to be identified as Rahayu.

“Even though the price is escalating, I still need to buy it. Before, I used to buy that of another brand but if I cook the rice in the morning, in the evening it would have turned bad,” she said.

Civil servant Zulkifli Ibrahim said the price of the Vietnam-produced rice that he buys from a hypermarket had jumped.

“Three months back, it was RM 28.70 for a 10kg bag, now it is sold at RM35.70,” he said.

Canteen operator Mazlina Ismail complained that the price of the 50kg bag of rice that she had purchased had catapulted to RM115 from RM85.

The escalating price is not only for rice, but also that of other items as well.

“It is difficult to do business nowadays,” lamented Mazlina.

Recently, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) announced that its findings had shown escalation in the price of rice nation wide.

There is also price manipulation, as the government has no control over the price of imported rice as this is determined by the producer countries.

Fomca chief executive officer Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the federation had received complaints over uncontrolled price hike.

“The complaints prompted Fomca to conduct checks and it is true that there is a hike in the price of rice at between 10 and 20 per cent.

“However this is for rice which is not regulated by the government,” he said.

He said the rice regulated by the government under the Rice Order (Grade and Price Control) 1992 is the local super grade that has 15 per cent broken rice.

“The selling price is fixed between RM1.65 and RM1.80 per kg based on zonal categories in Peninsular Malaysia,” said Muhammad Sha’ani.

The poser is that, most of the rice sold in supermarkets contain the maximum of 10 per cent broken grains, while that of 15 per cent is difficult to find.

“This means that the rice with 15 per cent broken grains are sold mostly in the rural areas and consumed by the lower-income earners,” Muhammad Sha’ani told Bernama.

At the same time, Fomca received complaints from Bumiputera wholesalers that they are facing difficulties in getting the supply.

“They used to get the supply from Bernas and they can use their own brand names.

“A number of these wholesalers have their rice-packaging mills and this cuts down the production costs.

“Now Bernas supplies only its subsidiaries or consortiums comprising major wholesalers which are not Bernas subsidiaries. These consortiums impose certain quotas on independent wholesalers,” he said.

“Bernas had also packaged the local super rice (15 per cent broken grains) with existing brands, hence preventing the independent wholesalers from using their own brand names,” he said.

Careful measures are needed to deal with the price and supply of rice to prevent Malaysia from being dragged into the food crisis as that experienced by several countries like Egypt, Haiti and Cameroon.

A Washington-based agency recently reported that the world’s food crisis is getting more acute.

At least three major rice-producing nations — Vietnam, Brazil and India, have enforced the ban on exports of this commodity, causing the price to jump in the international market.

The price of rice in Thailand, which is the world’s largest exporter of this commodity, had increased to US$1,000 (RM3,150) per tonne last April 24 a jump by some 70 per cent within the last four months.

Amidst the world’s worst food crisis since the Second World War, the Malaysian government had announced a RM4.0 billion allocation for the implementation of the National Food Security Policy to ensure enough food supply for the country, particularly during crisis times.

The government appears not to be contented with the 65-75 per cent rice production for the country’s own needs, but wants the target of 100 per cent production to be reached.

It had also named Sarawak as the country’s new ‘rice bowl’.

Meanwhile, Fomca said Malaysia’s dependency on imported food would create negative impacts on the nation when natural disasters or wars occurred.

“Food supply can be cut off. In this context, the government needs to have strategic planning and political will in drawing out the National Food Security Policy, to make it a really effective long-term planning,” said Muhammad Sha’ani.

The Malaysian government, in fact, has given priority on the food issue.

This can be seen with the setting up of the Lembaga Padi dan Beras (LPN) in September 1971.

This task was later shouldered by the Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) when LPN became a private entity under the National Privatisation Policy.

With the price hike of rice being the current hot topic, Bernas had inevitably come into focus as the agency inherited LPN’s tasks in managing the country’s rice supply.

Bernas is the country’s sole importer of rice and already there were calls for the government not to renew its import permit when it expires in 2010.

Muhammad Sha’ani who is also Fomca’s secretary-general said Bernas inherited LPN’s responsibility to ensure enough supply of rice for the nation.

“It is Bernas’ responsibility to store and maintain the National Rice Stockpile to ensure stable supply and price of rice,” he said.

He said, as the sole import licence holder of rice, Bernas was reported to have forged joint-venture firms in rice-producing nations.

Among these nations are Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and China.

“Fomca was informed that the role of these joint-venture companies is to compile data on the supply and price of rice in these countries.

“The joint-venture firms would buy rice at good prices and store it in warehouses in the respective rice-producing nations.

“When needed, the rice is shipped to Malaysia. This way, Bernas is able to control the price of rice from the major rice-producing countries,” he said.

Muhammad Sha’ani said the data compiled allows Bernas to know before hand the exact price situation.

— Bernama

NEWS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (NNN-Bernama): Malaysia, like many other countries, cannot escape from the global phenomena of rising prices of food and other products. Director-General of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin said that what was happening now were structural and fundamental changes related to production and demand. She said Malaysia managed to keep the price level and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) low due to the subsidy given by the government and also the price control on various food items. "But the question is how far we can maintain this...we cannot escape from this international phenomena (of rising prices)," she said at a public seminar entitled "Rising Prices and People's Welfare: Current Measures and Future Steps" by ISIS, here Friday. Mahani also commented on calls for the government to reduce the petrol price, on the basis that Malaysia is an exporter of oil and, as such, benefited from the high price of oil in the global market. She said Malaysia could not be compared to other oil producing countries like Kuwait which had oil reserves for more than 100 years or Saudi Arabia which also had huge reserves to last many more years. On the other side, Mahani said that Malaysia, despite its current status as an oil-exporting nation, would be a net importer of oil by 2011 and a net importer of gas by 2018. Mahani said even many of the oil producing countries in the world were not providing price subsidy for petroleum purchased by the people. The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) CEO and secretary general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said that the government should increase spending on areas like education, housing and healthcare to help more poor and lower income people due to rising prices of many goods and services. He said the people could not understand why university education was so costly in this country. According to Muhammad Sha'ani the government should also review the concession agreement with toll operators because the people felt that the current toll charges were too high and `eating into their pocket'. He said the government should also convince the people that figures being released like the CPI figures were truly reflective of the market. On food security, he said focus should also be given on helping small farmers to produce more, adding that despite the government's calls for more private sector investment in the agriculture sector to increase food production, not much progress had been achieved so far as companies were more interested in areas like palm oil plantation. -NNN-BERNAMA

BERNAMA : Features

---

May 02, 2008 11:01 AM

By Melati Mohd Ariff

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bernama) -- Whenever there is a price hike for rice, among the questions that linger in the mind of consumers is why Malaysia is not among the globes major rice producers.

And, what Thailand and Vietnam, which are among the worlds rice producers have, that Malaysia does not have?

There are several answers to these questions.

A major contributing factor to this debacle is Malaysia's policy when it focused on industrialization.

Hence, when there is a jump in the global price of this commodity, the nations leaders have switched their attention towards boosting the country's rice production.

The Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry is eyeing to push the country's rice production from the current 72 percent to 80-90 percent in the coming seasons.

This move is hoped to reduce the country's dependency on imported rice. It was reported that Malaysia annually imports 30 percent of its rice needs, or about 700,000 tonnes with most of this commodity coming from Thailand and Vietnam.

ESCALATING PRICE

Rice is categorized as a strategic security commodity since it is the staple food for Malaysians.

Local consumers have every reason to be concerned when there is a global price hike of rice, as they would face with uncertainties in the market price and supply of this commodity.

Lately, the rices price is steadily on the rise.

"Before, I used to buy a 5kg bag of rice at RM16.50, but now the price is RM18.50.

For 10kg, the price is RM37.00 now as compared to RM35.00 previously, a jump of RM2," said a housewife who wished to be identified as Rahayu.

"Even though the price is escalating, I still need to buy it. Before, I used to buy that of another brand but if I cook the rice in the morning, in the evening it had already turned bad," she said.

Civil servant Zulkifli Ibrahim said the price of the Vietnam-produced rice that he buys from a hypermarket had jumped.

"Three months back, it was RM 28.70 for a 10kg bag, now it is sold at RM35.70," he said.

Canteen operator Mazlina Ismail complained that the price of the 50kg bag of rice that she had purchased had catapulted to RM115 from RM85. The escalating price is not only for rice, but also that of other items as well. It is difficult to do business nowadays," lamented Mazlina.

Recently, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) announced that its findings had shown escalation in the price of rice nation wide.

There is also price manipulation, as the government has no control over the price of imported rice as this determined by the producer countries.

FOMCA's chief executive officer Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the federation received complaints over the uncontrolled price hike.

"The complaints prompted FOMCA to conduct checks and it is true that there is hike in the price of rice at between 10 and 20 percent. However this is for rice which is not regulated by the government," he said.

CONTROLLED RICE

He said the rice regulated by the government under the Rice Order (Grade and Price Control) 1992 is the local super grade that has 15 percent broken rice.

"The selling price is fixed between RM1.65 and RM1.80 per kg based on zonal categories in Peninsular Malaysia," said Muhammad Sha'ani.

The poser is that, most of the rice sold in supermarkets contain the maximum of 10 percent broken grains, while that of 15 percent is difficult to find.

"This means that the rice with 15 percent broken grains are sold mostly in the rural areas and consumed by the lower-income earners," Muhammad Sha'ani told Bernama.

At the same time, FOMCA received complaints from Bumiputera wholesalers that they are facing difficulties in getting the supply.

"They used to get the supply from Bernas and they can use their own brand names. A number of these wholesalers have their rice-packaging mills and this cuts down the production costs.

"Now Bernas supply only its subsidiaries or consortium comprising major wholesalers which are not Bernas subsidiaries. This consortium imposes certain quotas on independent wholesalers," he said.

Bernas had also packaged the local super rice (15 percent broken grains) with existing brands, hence preventing the independent wholesalers from using their own brand names," he said.

DILIGENT MEASURES

Careful measures are needed to deal with the price and supply of rice to prevent Malaysia from being drag into food crisis as that experienced by several countries like Egypt, Haiti and Cameroon.

A Washington-based agency recently reported that the worlds food crisis is getting more acute. At least three major rice-producing nations -- Vietnam, Brazil and India, have enforced the ban on exports of this commodity, causing the price to jump in the international market.

The price of rice in Thailand, which is the worlds largest exporter of this commodity, had increased to US$1,000 (RM3,150) per tonne last April 24. a jump by some 70 percent within the last four months.

Amidst the worlds worst food crisis since the Second World War, the Malaysian Government had announced a RM4.0 billion allocation for the implementation of the National Food Security Policy to ensure enough food supply for the country, particularly during crisis times.

The government appears not to be contented with the 65-75 percent rice production for the country's own needs, but wants the target of 100 percent production to be reached.

It had also named Sarawak as the country's new 'rice bowl. Meanwhile, FOMCA said Malaysia's dependency on imported food would create negative impacts on the nation when natural disasters or wars occurred.

"Food supply can be cut off. In this context, the government needs to have strategic planning and political will in drawing out the National Food Security Policy, to make it a really effective long-term planning," said Muhammad Sha'ani.

LPN, BERNAS

The Malaysian government, in fact, has given priority on the food issue. This can be seen with the setting up of the Lembaga Padi dan Beras (LPN) in September 1971.

This task was later shouldered by the Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) when LPN became a private entity under the National Privatisation Policy.

As the price hike of rice being the current hot topic, Bernas had inevitably came into mention as the agency inherited LPNs tasks in managing the country's rice supply.

Bernas was named as the country's sole importer of rice and already there were calls for the government not to renew Bernas import permit when it expires in 2010.

Muhammad Sha'ani who is also FOMCAs secretary-general said Bernas inherited LPNs responsibility to ensure enough supply of rice for the nation.

"It is Bernas responsibility to store and maintain the National Rice Stockpile to ensure stable supply and price of rice," he said.

He said, as the sole import license holder of rice, Bernas was reported to have forged joint-venture firms in rice-producing nations. Among these nations are Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and China.

"FOMCA was informed that the role of these joint-venture companies is to compile data on the supply and price of rice in these countries.

The joint-venture firms would buy rice at good prices and store it in warehouses in the respective rice-producing nations.

"When needed, the rice is shipped to Malaysia. This way, Bernas is able to control the price of rice from the major rice-producing countries," he said.

Muhammad Sha'ani said the data compiled allows Bernas to know before hand the exact price situation.

-- BERNAMA

mStar
02-05-2008 01:24:26 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Apabila berlaku kenaikan harga beras di pasaran dunia, pastinya antara soalan yang mengasak minda kita ialah mengapa Malaysia tidak menjadi negara utama pengeksport beras dunia? Apa yang ada pada Thailand dan Vietnam yang tidak ada pada kita?

Jawapannya pelbagai, antaranya dasar yang ghairah mahu menjadikan Malaysia negara perindustrian sehingga menyebabkan sektor pertanian terabai.

Justeru apabila harga beras melonjak di pasaran dunia, fokus pucuk pimpinan kita mula beralih kepada melipatgandakan usaha meningkatkan pengeluaran padi negara.

Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani meletakkan sasaran meningkatkan pengeluaran padi negara, daripada 72 peratus kepada 80 hingga 90 peratus pada musim akan datang.

Langkah ini dapat mengurangkan kebergantungan negara terhadap beras import.

Malaysia mengimport 30 peratus keperluan beras iaitu kirakira 700,000 metrik tan setahun, sebahagian besarnya dari Thailand dan Vietnam.

Semakin mahal

Beras adalah komoditi keselamatan strategik kerana ia barang makanan keperluan penting dan makanan asasi rakyat negara ini.

Apabila berlaku kenaikan harga beras dunia, pengguna negara ini sudah tentunya gusar kerana terpaksa berdepan satu lagi krisis.

Harga beras sejak kebelakangan ini sememangnya sudah meningkat.

"Sebelum ini satu kampit 5 kg beras yang saya beli harganya RM16.50, sekarang sudah RM18.50. Kalau 10 kg sudah jadi RM37.00, dulu RM35.00," demikian rungut suri rumah tangga yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Rahayu.

"Walau pun naik harga, terpaksa beli juga. Dulu saya beli beras yang murah tetapi mutunya kurang baik, jika masak pagi, petang sudah berbau," tambahnya.

Penjawat awam, Zulkifli Ibrahim pula memberitahu beras import dari Vietnam yang dibelinya di hipermarket turut melonjak tinggi.

"Tiga bulan dulu saya beli kampit 10 kg dengan harga RM28.70 sekarang RM35.70," katanya.

Pengusaha kantin, Mazlina Ismail mengadu semakin susah untuk berniaga sekarang kerana harga beras dan barangan lain melambung tinggi.

"Paket beras 50kg yang biasanya dibeli dengan harga RM85, baru beli pagi RM112, petang RM115," keluhnya kepada penulis.

Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan PenggunaPengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) yang turut memantau harga beras mengakui berlaku kenaikan di kawasan bandar di seluruh negara termasuk di Lembah Klang.

Manipulasi harga beras boleh dijangkakan memandangkan kerajaan tidak mempunyai kuasa mengawal harga beras import yang dijual di pasaran tempatan kerana ia di bawah kawalan negara pengeluar.

Menurut Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif FOMCA, Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, pihaknya menerima rungutan kenaikan harga beras yang tidak dikawal kerajaan.

"Berdasarkan rungutan, FOMCA membuat pemantauan di seluruh negara. Memang terdapat kenaikan antara 10 hingga 20 peratus. Kenaikan ini bagi beras yang tidak dikawal kerajaan," tambahnya.

Beras yang dikawal

Muhammad Sha'ani memberitahu, beras yang dikawal kerajaan iaitu di bawah Perintah Beras (Kawalan Gred dan Harga) 1992 ialah beras gred super tempatan yang mempunyai kandungan hancur 15 peratus.

"Harga jualannya ditetapkan antara RM1.65 hingga RM1.80 sekilogram berdasarkan zonzon tertentu di Semenanjung Malaysia," kata Muhammad Shaani.

Persoalannya, kebanyakan beras yang dibungkus dan dijual di pasar raya dan kedai mengandungi beras hancur maksimumnya 10 peratus, yang 15 peratus sukar ditemui.

"Perkara itu memang benar, kandungan beras hancur 15 peratus ini mungkin dijual di kampung-kampung, terutamanya dibeli golongan berpendapatan rendah," Muhammad Sha'ani memberitahu Bernama.

Dalam masa yang sama beliau turut menerima aduan beberapa pemborong beras bumiputera mengenai masalah mendapatkan bekalan beras.

"Sebelum ini mereka mendapat bekalan beras daripada Bernas dan boleh menggunakan jenama sendiri. Sebahagian pemborong beras mempunyai kilang untuk membungkus beras sendiri. Ini menjimatkan kos pengeluaran mereka.

"Kini Bernas hanya membekalkan kepada anak-anak syarikatnya sahaja atau konsortium yang dianggotai pemborong-pemborong beras besar bukan anak syarikat Bernas. Konsortium ini mengenakan kuota tertentu kepada pemborong bebas," katanya.
Jelas beliau, Bernas juga membungkus beras super tempatan kandungan hancur 15 peratus dengan jenama yang sudah disediakan menyebabkan pemborong bebas tidak dapat menjual menggunakan jenama mereka sendiri.

Perlu usaha berhemat

Sewajarnya isu harga dan bekalannya perlu ditangani secara berhemat supaya Malaysia tidak terseret ke dalam kancah krisis makanan seperti yang melanda beberapa negara dunia termasuk Mesir, Haiti dan Cameroon.

Menurut laporan agensi asing dari Washington baru-baru ini, krisis makanan dunia semakin meruncing. Sekurang-kurangnya tiga negara pengeluar utama beras, iaitu Vietnam, Brazil dan India menguatkuasakan larangan eksport. Ini mengakibatkan harga komoditi itu melambung di pasaran dunia.

Harga beras di Thailand (pengeksport utama beras dunia) dilaporkan meningkat kepada kira-kira AS$1,000 (RM3,150) setan pada 24 April lepas, kenaikan kira-kira 70 peratus sepanjang tempoh empat bulan lepas.

Dalam dunia melalui krisis makanan paling serius pernah dialami sejak Perang Dunia kedua, kerajaan Malaysia mengumumkan peruntukan RM4 bilion untuk perlaksanaan Dasar Jaminan Makanan Negara.

Ia bertujuan memastikan bekalan makanan mencukupi pada bila-bila masa terutama ketika menghadapi krisis makanan dunia.

Kerajaan juga mahu negara bukan sekadar mengeluarkan beras cukup untuk kegunaan sendiri iaitu antara 65 dan 70 peratus tetapi juga memastikan keperluan beras mencukupi 100 peratus. Sarawak juga diumum sebagai jelapang padi yang baru.

FOMCA berpendapat kebergantungan kepada produk makanan yang diimport boleh memberi impak negatif kepada negara sekiranya berlaku keadaan seperti bencana atau peperangan.

"Bekalan makanan boleh terputus. Kerajaan perlu mempunyai kemahuan politik dan perancangan strategik dalam merangka Dasar Jaminan Makanan Negara agar ia menjadi perancangan jangka panjang yang benar-benar berkesan," kata Muhammad Sha'ani.

Antara LPN dan Bernas

Kesungguhan kerajaan Malaysia memastikan keperluan beras rakyat negara ini mencukupi dapat dilihat dengan penubuhan Lembaga Padi dan Beras Negara (LPN) pada September 1971.

Tanggungjawab LPN kemudiannya digalas Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) apabila LPN diswastakan pada 1994 di bawah Dasar Penswastaan Negara.

Sewajarnya apabila harga dan bekalan beras heboh diperkatakan, fokus sudah tentunya kepada Bernas memandangkan ia mewarisi tanggungjawab LPN dalam pengurusan beras di negara ini.

Bernas juga diberi lesen tunggal untuk mengimport beras. Dalam hal ini sudah kedengaran suara mendesak kerajaan supaya tidak memperbaharui lesen tersebut yang akan tamat pada 2010.

Muhammad Sha'ani yang juga Setiausaha Agung FOMCA berkata, Bernas mewarisi tanggungjawab LPN untuk memastikan bekalan beras mencukupi.

"Menjadi tanggungjawab Bernas untuk menyimpan dan menyelenggara satu bekalan padi dan beras yang cukup (Stok Simpanan Beras Negara) di samping memastikan harga beras berpatutan dan stabil," tambahnya.

Menurut beliau, sebagai pelesen tunggal mengimport beras, Bernas dilaporkan mewujudkan syarikat usahasama di negara-negara pengeksport beras.

Negara-negara yang membekalkan beras kepada Bernas ialah Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan dan China.

"FOMCA difahamkan syarikat usahasama tersebut berperanan mengumpul data tentang kedudukan bekalan dan harga beras di negara-negara berkenaan. Syarikat usahasama itu akan membeli beras pada harga yang baik dan menyimpannya dalam gudang simpanan beras di negara tersebut.

"Apabila diperlukan, beras berkenaan akan dihantar ke Malaysia. Keadaan ini membolehkan Bernas mengawal kedudukan bekalan dan harga beras di negara-negara pengeluar beras utama," katanya.

Beliau berkata, data yang dibekalkan oleh syarikat usahasama Bernas membolehkan Bernas mengetahui lebih awal kedudukan pasaran beras dalam tempoh tertentu.
BERNAMA

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Careful measures needed to prevent Malaysia from being dragged into global food crisis: Fomca

KUALA LUMPUR: Whenever there is a price hike for rice, among the questions that linger in the mind of consumers is why Malaysia is not among the globe’s major rice producers.

And, what do world’s top rice producers Thailand and Vietnam have that Malaysia does not have?

There are several answers to these questions.

A major contributing factor to this debacle is Malaysia’s policy when it focused on industrialisation.

When there is a jump in the global price of this commodity, the nation’s leaders have switched their attention towards boosting the country’s rice production.

The Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry is eyeing to push the country’s rice production from the current 72 per cent to 80-90 per cent in the coming seasons.

This decision is hoped to reduce the country’s dependency on imported rice.

It was reported that Malaysia annually imports 30 per cent of its rice needs, or about 700,000 tonnes with most of this commodity coming from Thailand and Vietnam.

Rice is categorised as a strategic security commodity since it is the staple food for Malaysians.

Local consumers have every reason to be concerned when there is a global price hike of rice, as they would face uncertainties in the market price and supply of this commodity.

Lately, the rice price is steadily on the rise.

“Before, I used to buy a 5kg bag of rice at RM16.50, but now the price is RM18.50. For 10kg, the price is RM37 now as compared to RM35 previously, a jump of RM2,” said a housewife who wished to be identified as Rahayu.

“Even though the price is escalating, I still need to buy it. Before, I used to buy that of another brand but if I cook the rice in the morning, in the evening it would have turned bad,” she said.

Civil servant Zulkifli Ibrahim said the price of the Vietnam-produced rice that he buys from a hypermarket had jumped.

“Three months back, it was RM 28.70 for a 10kg bag, now it is sold at RM35.70,” he said.

Canteen operator Mazlina Ismail complained that the price of the 50kg bag of rice that she had purchased had catapulted to RM115 from RM85.

The escalating price is not only for rice, but also that of other items as well.

“It is difficult to do business nowadays,” lamented Mazlina.

Recently, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) announced that its findings had shown escalation in the price of rice nation wide.

There is also price manipulation, as the government has no control over the price of imported rice as this is determined by the producer countries.

Fomca chief executive officer Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the federation had received complaints over uncontrolled price hike.

“The complaints prompted Fomca to conduct checks and it is true that there is a hike in the price of rice at between 10 and 20 per cent.

“However this is for rice which is not regulated by the government,” he said.

He said the rice regulated by the government under the Rice Order (Grade and Price Control) 1992 is the local super grade that has 15 per cent broken rice.

“The selling price is fixed between RM1.65 and RM1.80 per kg based on zonal categories in Peninsular Malaysia,” said Muhammad Sha’ani.

The poser is that, most of the rice sold in supermarkets contain the maximum of 10 per cent broken grains, while that of 15 per cent is difficult to find.

“This means that the rice with 15 per cent broken grains are sold mostly in the rural areas and consumed by the lower-income earners,” Muhammad Sha’ani told Bernama.

At the same time, Fomca received complaints from Bumiputera wholesalers that they are facing difficulties in getting the supply.

“They used to get the supply from Bernas and they can use their own brand names.

“A number of these wholesalers have their rice-packaging mills and this cuts down the production costs.

“Now Bernas supplies only its subsidiaries or consortiums comprising major wholesalers which are not Bernas subsidiaries. These consortiums impose certain quotas on independent wholesalers,” he said.

“Bernas had also packaged the local super rice (15 per cent broken grains) with existing brands, hence preventing the independent wholesalers from using their own brand names,” he said.

Careful measures are needed to deal with the price and supply of rice to prevent Malaysia from being dragged into the food crisis as that experienced by several countries like Egypt, Haiti and Cameroon.

A Washington-based agency recently reported that the world’s food crisis is getting more acute.

At least three major rice-producing nations — Vietnam, Brazil and India, have enforced the ban on exports of this commodity, causing the price to jump in the international market.

The price of rice in Thailand, which is the world’s largest exporter of this commodity, had increased to US$1,000 (RM3,150) per tonne last April 24 a jump by some 70 per cent within the last four months.

Amidst the world’s worst food crisis since the Second World War, the Malaysian government had announced a RM4.0 billion allocation for the implementation of the National Food Security Policy to ensure enough food supply for the country, particularly during crisis times.

The government appears not to be contented with the 65-75 per cent rice production for the country’s own needs, but wants the target of 100 per cent production to be reached.

It had also named Sarawak as the country’s new ‘rice bowl’.

Meanwhile, Fomca said Malaysia’s dependency on imported food would create negative impacts on the nation when natural disasters or wars occurred.

“Food supply can be cut off. In this context, the government needs to have strategic planning and political will in drawing out the National Food Security Policy, to make it a really effective long-term planning,” said Muhammad Sha’ani.

The Malaysian government, in fact, has given priority on the food issue.

This can be seen with the setting up of the Lembaga Padi dan Beras (LPN) in September 1971.

This task was later shouldered by the Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) when LPN became a private entity under the National Privatisation Policy.

With the price hike of rice being the current hot topic, Bernas had inevitably come into focus as the agency inherited LPN’s tasks in managing the country’s rice supply.

Bernas is the country’s sole importer of rice and already there were calls for the government not to renew its import permit when it expires in 2010.

Muhammad Sha’ani who is also Fomca’s secretary-general said Bernas inherited LPN’s responsibility to ensure enough supply of rice for the nation.

“It is Bernas’ responsibility to store and maintain the National Rice Stockpile to ensure stable supply and price of rice,” he said.

He said, as the sole import licence holder of rice, Bernas was reported to have forged joint-venture firms in rice-producing nations.

Among these nations are Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and China.

“Fomca was informed that the role of these joint-venture companies is to compile data on the supply and price of rice in these countries.

“The joint-venture firms would buy rice at good prices and store it in warehouses in the respective rice-producing nations.

“When needed, the rice is shipped to Malaysia. This way, Bernas is able to control the price of rice from the major rice-producing countries,” he said.

Muhammad Sha’ani said the data compiled allows Bernas to know before hand the exact price situation.

— Bernama

KOSMO RENCANA UTAMA

31 Mei 2008

Autopsi sikap pengguna

Bagaimanakah sikap pengguna boleh menyumbang kepada kenaikan harga barang?

GOLONGAN pembeli pertengahan menghabiskan masa berjam-jam membeli-belah di pasar raya kerana terdapat banyak barangan makanan yang sofistikated.

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PASARAN makanan negara ini dikuasai oleh negara-negara seperti Amerika Syarikat, Australia, New Zealand, China, Thailand dan Indonesia. - Gambar hiasan

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BAGI masyarakat pengguna negara ini, tidak ada yang lebih memeningkan kepala daripada berterusan menanggung beban kenaikan harga barangan.

Ketika ini, beras menjadi isu paling hangat diperkatakan, semuanya gara-gara kenaikan harga beras di pasaran dunia.

Krisis beras semakin meruncing apabila beberapa negara pengeluar utama beras dunia seperti China, Mesir, Vietnam dan India bertindak mengehadkan eksport beras untuk memastikan mereka mampu menyediakan makanan itu untuk rakyat mereka sendiri.

Harga beras di negara ini pula dilaporkan meningkat antara 10 hingga 20 peratus sejak kebelakangan ini.

Mungkin masyarakat pengguna negara ini yakin dengan jaminan yang dibuat oleh kementerian-kementerian yang terlibat dengan komoditi ini yang berkali-kali menyatakan bahawa stok beras negara mencukupi.

Malaysia dilaporkan mengimport antara 700,000 hingga 800,000 tan beras setahun sebagai tambahan kepada 1.1 juta tan yang dihasilkan. Negara utama untuk import beras Malaysia sudah semestinya Thailand (antara 50 hingga 60 peratus) manakala bakinya daripada China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India dan Pakistan.

Lonjakan harga minyak mentah (AS$120 atau RM376 setong dicatat pada 23 April 2008) di pasaran dunia dan kenaikan kadar tol menyebabkan kenaikan hampir kesemua barangan.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif FOMCA, Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah memberitahu, kenaikan harga barangan keperluan dan perkhidmatan sejak tempoh dua tahun lalu begitu membebankan pengguna negara ini.

Katanya, golongan berpendapatan rendah dan pertengahan yang paling teruk terjejas dengan perkembangan tersebut sehinggakan mereka berasa tidak yakin dengan masa depan mereka dan bagaimana mahu menyara kehidupan keluarga.

Menurut Muhammad Sha'ani yang juga Setiausaha Agung FOMCA, sebarang kenaikan harga minyak akan menjadi pemangkin utama untuk inflasi yang akan melonjakkan lagi barangan keperluan harian.

"Kesan sosioekonomi sememangnya teruk seperti yang pernah kita saksikan dan alami sebelum ini. Kegiatan mengambil untung berleluasa dan pengguna menjadi mangsa eksploitasi peniaga.

"Peniaga dan badan korporat menggunakan kesempatan ini untuk menaikkan harga barangan dan perkhidmatan. Pihak yang tidak mahu memikul beban kenaikan akan memindahkan lebihan kos kepada pihak lain, sama ada pembekal atau peruncit dan mangsanya adalah pengguna," jelasnya.

Kegiatan mengambil untung Menjelaskan kegiatan mengambil untung, Muhammad Sha'ani berkata, kerakusan peniaga yang menaikkan harga barangan dan perkhidmatan boleh dilihat apabila berlaku kenaikan harga minyak, tol, tarif elektrik dan air.

"Meskipun sesetengah kenaikan ada justifikasinya atas sebab impak secara langsung (contoh pengangkutan kerana kenaikan harga minyak), kebanyakan kenaikan harga lebih bersifat mengambil keuntungan oleh peniaga.

"Ada peniaga yang dengan sewenang-wenangnya menaikkan harga barangan sesuka hati. Sikap yang tidak bertanggungjawab ini adalah salah satu masalah utama yang memberi kesan negatif kepada sosioekonomi dan menyekat kemajuan," kata Muhammad Sha'ani.

Beliau turut menyentuh peranan penting yang dimainkan oleh orang tengah dalam rangkaian makanan di mana mereka menentukan harga dan bekalan barangan makanan yang dijual di pasaran.

"Orang tengah berada dalam kedudukan yang selesa kerana mereka menjana keuntungan besar daripada kedua-dua pihak pengeluar dan pengguna," tambahnya.

Menurut beliau, sesetengah orang tengah bertindak sebagai cartel dengan membeli pada harga yang rendah daripada petani dan menjual hasil tanaman atau barangan yang sama pada harga yang tinggi kepada pengguna.

Menurut Muhammad Sha'ani, terdapat beberapa faktor lain yang menyumbang kepada kenaikan harga barangan di negara ini, antaranya bil import makanan yang tinggi.

"Pada tahun 2005, bil import makanan negara berjumlah RM17.793 bilion sedangkan bil eksport makanan hanya RM10.674 bilion, menunjukkan defisit RM7.119 bilion dalam Imbangan Dagangan Barangan Makanan (BOTFS).

"Sejak lebih seabad lampau, Malaysia semakin bergantung kepada import makanan bagi menampung permintaan yang semakin meningkat. Pasaran makanan negara ini dikuasai oleh negara-negara seperti Amerika Syarikat (AS), Australia, New Zealand, China, Thailand dan Indonesia," jelasnya.

Malaysia mengimport barangan tenusu dari New Zealand sementara sayur-sayuran dan buah-buahan dari Australia dan AS.

Malaysia juga mengimport produk makanan laut, sebahagian besarnya dari Thailand dan Indonesia.

"Ketidakupayaan Malaysia menampung pengeluaran makanan dalam negara bagi memenuhi permintaan menjadikan bil import makanan melambung dan menyebabkan kenaikan harga makanan ini," jelas beliau.

Tabiat berbelanja boros sesetengah pengguna di negara ini, menurut Muhammad Sha'ani turut merangsang kenaikan harga barangan.

"Pengguna hari ini cenderung berbelanja besar terutamanya golongan kelas pertengahan yang tidak teragak-agak menghamburkan wang mereka membeli produk teknologi baru dan aksesori peribadi atas nama fesyen dan kesenangan.

Pengguna yang berpendapatan pertengahan, membawa dimensi baru dalam pembelian barangan.

"Mereka ini menghabiskan masa berjam-jam membeli-belah di pasar raya dan hipermarket kerana terdapat banyak barangan makanan yang sofistikated," ujar beliau.

Budaya berhutang Promosi berleluasa kad kredit, pinjaman perumahan dan sewa beli oleh institusi kewangan memburukkan lagi keadaan.

Muhammad Sha'ani berpendapat, sektor kewangan sebenarnya menggalakkan budaya berhutang menerusi tawaran hadiah percuma, kadar faedah yang rendah serta skim bayaran balik mudah.

"Budaya berhutang semakin menjalar dalam kehidupan masyarakat hari ini.

Anak-anak muda yang baru memasuki dunia pekerjaan turut terjebak dalam sindrom berhutang dengan pinjaman kereta, rumah dan bil kad kredit," jelasnya.

Tambah beliau, gaya hidup 'miliki dulu, bayar kemudian' ini akan hanya mengheret pengguna ke dalam perangkap hutang dan mereka akhirnya akan menjadi muflis. - Bernama