PARLIAMENT | An opposition MP alleged unscrupulous factories were repackaging local rice as imported ones to be sold at higher prices.

Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki (PN-Parit Buntar) made this claim as people could not find local rice in supermarkets and grocery shops.

“There are allegations that when local paddy was sent to factories in the morning, it becomes (labelled as) imported rice by the evening.

“Can the government monitor these factories to find out what is happening?

“If this is real, what action is the government planning to take against these errant factories? If it’s not real, then where is our local rice?” he asked in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Responding to Misbahul (above), Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said the government would investigate the allegations, adding that a new law would be enacted to curb such matters if it was true.

“We will come up with a new regulation but first, we have to investigate the matter,” he added.

In March, Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin urged the prime minister to give a detailed explanation of the nation’s rice issues.

He also questioned the government’s purported lack of action in resolving the issue of rice shortages faced by the people, comparing it to when his administration faced similar issues.

“There should be more local rice (in the market) instead of imported rice but the opposite has happened.

“Where did all the local rice go? Until today, there has been no answer by the government,” Muhyiddin said during his debate on the royal address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the opening of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Parliament.

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