The Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum has accused Putrajaya of sidelining engagement procedures before submitting a draft on amendments to the Protection of New Plant Varieties (PNPV) Act 2004 to a global treaty body.

The forum - with the backing of farmer organisations, indigenous community groups, consumer groups, and environmental NGOs - slammed the government for supposedly going against its promise to secure a general consensus from relevant stakeholders prior to finalising the proposed amendments.