KUCHING: The Small and Medium Scale Enterpreneurs Organisation of Malaysia (Ikhlas) wants the government to issue approved permits (APs) for the importation of rice to companies other than Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), saying this would stabilise the price of rice in the country.
Ikhlas president Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak Tun Razak had said in March that the government was studying the need to liberalise the issuance of APs for the importation of rice to ease the
burden on the people.
“Ikhlas fully supports the Prime Minister’s proposal regarding the issuance of APs for importing rice so that it is not monopolised by just one company (Bernas).
“Allowing other companies to import rice would create healthy competition and consumers would be able to enjoy higher quality rice at lower prices,” he said at a media conference here today.
He said the government should limit Bernas’ AP to a renewable two-year period instead of 25 years (from 1996 to 2021), and issue APs to other companies before 2021.
On another matter, Mohd Riduan urged the government to review Section 33 of the Local Government Act so that any enforcement action should get the full approval of the local authority concerned.
Ikhlas has detected several cases of enforcement personnel seizing goods from petty traders and destroying their stalls without prior notice, he said.
He also called for harsher penalties for gambling, saying the existing fines set out in the Open Gaming Houses Act 1953 are too light to deter gambling. -BERNAMA