Rice sale may need new rules

PETALING JAYA: New regulations and guidelines may be required to penalise those who apply for the subsidised rice programme known as Subur (Subsidi Beras Untuk Rakyat) by using false information, said the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry.

Deputy Minister Chua Tee Yong said there had been cases of people applying for the subsidy programme even though they knew they were earning more than RM1,500 per month, the income requirement for eligibility.

“Some people try their luck even though they know they don’t qualify for the programme,” he said, adding that there was no penalty for doing so currently.

“Multiple applications (from the same household) is another problem. We have received numerous applications from individuals within the same household applying for the subsidy,” he said in a phone interview.

Meanwhile, Chua said investigations to check why the subsidised Super Tempatan 15 (ST15) rice was not reaching its intended lower-income group were ongoing.

“Some retailers really might not be getting their stock delivered while others might be colluding with wholesalers to channel it elsewhere for profit. There are many possibilities,” he said, adding that the ST15 rice might be smuggled to neighbouring countries as well.

He said a more efficient mechanism was needed to trace where the supply of ST15 rice was going.

When contacted, the ministry’s enforcement team Kawal Selia confirmed that there was no shortage of the ST15 rice.

“We are producing about 40,000 metric tonnes per month. The problem lies with dishonest wholesalers, retailers or consumers who are depriving the targeted income group of the rice,” said officer Rezal Zaidi.

He said further checks conducted by Kawal Selia showed that all stock deliveries had been accounted for on paper, making it difficult to determine if the deliveries were actually made.

On the Subur programme, Rezal said around 70,000 of the 500,000 applicants were from the e-Kasih list while the rest applied through the Parliamentary Area Agriculture Develop­ment Committee (MPPP) of the 222 parliamentary areas.

“Once the number of recipients and implementation mechanism has been finalised, we will send it for Cabinet approval,” he said.

When contacted, a Padiberas Nasio­nal Bhd (Bernas) spokesman said there was no shortage in raw material to produce the ST15 rice.

“We supply the raw material to the wholesalers and they are in charge of packaging it. On our end, there is no problem,” said the spokesman.

(Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/12/nation/8050824&sec=nation)