YESTERDAY, the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry (MAFI) assured the public that food supply in the country has not reached crisis level as claimed by some quarters.
According to Bernama, MAFI deputy secretary-general (Development) Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd said although there were some hiccups with regard to food supply, particularly in chicken and wheat, it had not affected the domestic supply overall.
“This is because about 94% of the chicken output is for local supply and only 6% for export.
“Overall, this country produces around 54 million chickens per month and the production capacity is able to meet the domestic need,” Badrul was reported as saying.
However, netizens were not convinced of Badrul’s assurances and took to social media to hurl brickbats at him for attempting to downplay the problem.
“Yea NOT at crisis level BUT at critical level…do you understand meaning of critical?” asked user Eathomas Thomas.
Echoing his sentiments, user Steven Sin added:
Netizen Willy Keat Vote Harapan retorted:
Last week, several states such as Perlis and Selangor had reported shortage in chicken supply in several areas.
Perlis Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) director Dr Adam Abdullah Kwan said that several traders have started rationing sales on their own to enable more customers to get chicken.
Selangor State Infrastructure, Public Utilities, Modernisation of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Izham Hashim, on the other hand, blamed the shortage to excessive demand.
Don’t get complacent
With soaring prices affecting other food items as well such as wheat and vegetables, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob froze approved permit (AP) requirement for food imports, except for rice.
On that note, user Antony Gasper hoped that the authorities would not get too complacent with the short reprieve to ensure the country does not find itself in a food crisis later.
Netizen Christopher Lee jested: “Still have time don’t panic. They will let us know when to panic.” – May 31, 2022
