“Out of mind”: DAP rep slams Perak MB for suggesting people grow, breed their own food
PASIR Pinji assemblyperson Howard Lee has levelled criticism against Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad for asking the people in the state to grow vegetables and rear livestock for their own consumption as a solution to the current shortage of food supply.
Lee, who is also DAP’s central executive council committee member, said that while Saarani’s idea may seem “out-of-the-box” in reality the suggestion is “out of mind”.
“It’s true that drastic action needs to be taken to handle the current food crisis but is the suggestion for people to plant their own vegetables and rear their own livestock truly a solution that can be implemented?” he asked.
On Tuesday (May 31) Saarani suggested that the people in Perak do so, saying that this could be among the initiatives taken to reduce the burden of rising cost of living due to the spike in the price of agricultural products and livestock meat such as chicken and mutton while the surplus could be sold.
On this matter Lee pointed out that Saarani should consider several factors before proposing such a solution.
“Before he so callously proposes such as solution, the first thing he has to consider is how many people in Perak have extra land to farm or breed, and how many have time to carry out such work amid their busy daily lives?” he said.
“Furthermore, even if Perakians really do have the land and also the extra time on their hands, how many people who have been told to plant their own vegetables and rear their own livestock has the experience or knowledge in such matters?”
Lee further pointed out that in reality, those who live in terrace houses, apartments and flats do noy have the space to grow vegetables and breed livestock.
“People are also stuck with their work commitments, with some even working until late at night. Surely, they would want to spend some time with their families as well. Where are they going to find the time for farming or breeding?”
Full commitment from state government
Lee further questioned if the Perak state government was prepared to give full commitment to make the idea a reality if Saarani truly wants Perakians to engage in such endeavours.
“If the state government wants its people to do so, it should provide the land for them even if it is on leasehold just as long as the people can work on it for several years,” he remarked.
“The Government should also provide working capital, seedlings and saplings, adequate education and training so that every citizen of Perak can cultivate crops and livestock for their own use through State Agriculture Department Corporation (SADC) subsidiaries.
“What is the use of agriculture and livestock-based subsidiaries if they are not fully utilised by the government?”
According to Lee the state government had in the past evicted small farmers who were actually independently growing vegetables in the city.
“Just look at how, in Ipoh, vegetable and corn farms appear in the middle of the city thanks to the people’s own efforts. But these efforts were often curtailed by the state government,” he said.
Recalling similar incidents in Chemor, Chepor, Kanthan, Pusing, Mambang Di Awan, Tanah Hitam and Changkat Kinding where small farmers were evicted from the lands they work on, Lee questioned if the state government is truly committed to guarantee food security.
“These small farmers are examples of independent citizens who have been involved in agriculture for decades and therefore have the relevant experience and knowledge. Some of them had applied for a Temporary Occupation License (TOL) but they were ignored,” he noted.
“Now they are being evicted from the lands that they are working on because the developers want to build more terrace houses and apartments that certainly do not come with the land space for homeowners to grow their own vegetables.”
Federal Government’s failure
According to Lee, the on-going food crisis is due to the failure of the federal government in formulating the necessary policies.
“For instance, the chicken crisis stemmed from the action of the chicken breeders who had to stop production because they are unable to afford the cost. The price of chicken feed rose sharply, forcing the chicken breeders to increase the price of raw chicken in the market.
“However, the Government’s move to impose a ceiling price on raw chicken while at the same time failing to allocate subsidies to the chicken breeders became the reason why the chicken export was halted and its supply was cut off.”
On the matter of Saarani’s “out-of-the-box” suggestion, Lee said that the question now is whether Saarani’s idea is a result of state agriculture executive council chairperson’s failure to formulate an agricultural policy to advise the Menteri Besar.
“Or is the existing state executive council truly incapable of dealing with the food crisis?” – June 3, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment