Pro-opposition intermediaries are the reason why the price of fish is so steep now, claims Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos.

“This increase in the price of fish is caused by the middlemen, who I truly believe have political motives.

“In a few more months, our country will face a general election and that is why there are certain parties who I believe are from Pakatan Harapan who are using these middlemen to increase the price of fish to a ridiculous price.

“The price increase of fish has been made into political fodder by certain political parties,” Jamal said to reporters outside the Umno Ampang headquarters today.

He had organised a program selling four types of fish for RM5 per kilogram there today, which saw long queues prior to the stalls opening at 9am. Each individual was limited to two kilograms of any fish of their choice.

Jamal had prepared five tonnes of fish to be sold at Ampang today and by 10am, more than half of his supply had been sold.

'Chinese' middlemen blamed

Though a banner above the stall read “Who are the middlemen? DAP fish towkays”, Jamal denied that it was referring to the political party.

“DAP means ‘dapat aiskrim percuma’ (get free ice-cream). I did not mention the DAP party, otherwise they would sue me,” he quipped when asked about the banner.

In January this year, Jamal had brought 10 beds to the state secretariat building in Shah Alam with the words “DAP – Dapat Aiskrim Percuma” emblazoned on the bedsheets. He also gave out free ice-cream during the stunt.

When pressed further on why he believes the middlemen are politically motivated, he claimed they are mostly Chinese traders who used to support the ruling government as they had purportedly received a lot of support from the government.

“When they became successful, they shifted their support to other parties.

“Today they support other parties in toppling the BN government, which had helped them for years.

“And they know the price hike for fish will cause the rakyat to get angry. When the rakyat are angry leading up to the elections, they will no longer support BN,” Jamal claimed.

Fishy agenda

He said would support the fish price hikes if it benefitted the fishermen, but he and his team had purportedly visited fishermen throughout the country and found that they are still earning less than RM5 per kilogramme of fish.

“The ones who are getting rich are the middlemen, who have a political agenda, or political parties who are taking advantage of the expensive prices of fish,” he claimed.

The five tonnes of fish he prepared for sale today was purchased at approximately RM4.80 per kilogram, he said.

As they are selling it for RM5 per kilogramme, they are not making any profit, but that is not the point of his programme, he said.

“We bear the other costs, such as the lorries, the workers, all of it.

“This programme is not to earn money, but to show to the rakyat that fish prices should not be what they are at the markets right now,” he said.

He also advised his fellow traders to source for cheaper supply of their stock, such as buying the fish directly from the fishermen as he had done.

Political motivations aside, he also urged agencies such as the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) and the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) to resolve the price issue as soon as possible.

He said although he is not pointing fingers at anyone, the agencies’ officers need to go to the ground and try to figure out this issue, instead of sitting in their offices in their suits and ties all day.

Today's event at Ampang is the third such programne, with the previous two being in Sekinchan, Selangor.

Jamal vowed to continue selling fish at this price every Sunday at Sekinchan as well as in different places in Selangor every week until fish prices have stabilised in the market.

His next venue, he said, is the Pandan Umno building next week followed by the Gombak Umno building the week after.

'Durian price hike okay'

When asked whether he would organise a similar programme to sell durian at a cheaper price, he said it has already been done in Shah Alam by the Selangor government.

“The (Selangor) menteri besar has organised a durian programme, so let Azmin Ali (photo) give out durian at a cheap price.

“But what they did is not sincere, because they gave out unripe durian,” he said.

He was referring to the Selangor government's “Kendurian Makan Sampai Pengsan” (Eat Durian Till You Faint) programme this August.

The event had to be cancelled after most of the 15-tonne supply of durian were found to be unripe.

Durian is also not part of a staple diet nor is it a necessity, unlike fish, Jamal said.

Furthermore, he said, he agreed with the durian price hike because the profits go back to the fruit farmers and not just to enrich middlemen.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had previously proclaimed that it was through his efforts in getting durian exported to China that had caused the increase in durian prices.

He had said that durian used to be sold for RM1 per fruit, but now the ‘musang king’ durian is sold for more than RM100 per kilogramme because of the new China market.

The prime minister had added then that farmers and fishermen alike would benefit if they become part of the global supply chain.