The government has spent millions of ringgit in terms of subsidies given to rice millers who produce the Super 15% rice grade. However, a run through the supermarket or sundry shop to get this Super 15% rice will be a ‘mission impossible'.

We hardly see this type of rice anymore in the supermarket, hypermarkets or the sundry shops. This despite million of taxpayers' money having gone down the drain by giving out monetary incentives to the rice millers. Is something wrong with the current system in giving them monetary incentives?

Are they manipulating the system whereby they deceive the enforcers from the Agriculture Ministry by producing invoices for Super 15% rice but in actual fact the rice delivered in only of the Super 5% or Super 10% grade?

Almost 90% of the various rice brands marketed by wholesalers, supermarkets and sundry shops are Bernas subsidiaries. YHL, Jasmine, Serba Wangi, Faeza and a dozen more companies all belong to Bernas.

As these companies can produce other types of rice, why doesn't Bernas make it mandatory for them to produce cheaper types of rice?

I believe Bernas can ask their subsidiaries to increase their output of Super 15% rice to cater for the insufficient supply. Or does Bernas not have a say in their subsidiaries' operations?

It is Bernas main role to ensure that there is enough supply of every type of rice for the market. The government has spent a lot by giving out monetary incentives to Bernas and other millers but the outcome is still poor.

With the current economic slowdown, the lower income group, hawkers and restauranteurs will chose cheaper rice. Ten kilogrammes of Super 15% rice will cost consumers around RM17-RM18 whereas Super 10% and Super 5% will cost them around RM23-RM26.

A difference of RM6 to RM8 compared with the price of Super 15%.

Any miller who produces a tonne of Super 15% is entitled for a government subsidy of RM750-RM800. This is taxpayers' money given to the miller as encouragement to produce Super 15% rice.

But when we go the market, it will be quite distressing when we cannot find this cheaper type of rice which we can call the rakyat's rice. The government and Bernas must find a way to solve this predicament as people want it to be resolved.