Price of imported white rice reduced from today
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu (pic) said the price reduction followed a meeting with Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), considering global market updates and the nation's food supply chain.
'This is the second price adjustment after the Dec 1, 2024, reduction, which went from RM3,000 to RM2,800 per tonne.
'At the same time, the BPI subsidy programme by the government for Sabah and Sarawak will continue,' he said yesterday.
He added that the reduction resulted from strategic approaches by Bernas in sourcing rice from various countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, rather than relying on a single market.
'The ministry will continue to monitor market movement and ensure policies remain focused on the needs of the people and food security,' he said.
Prior to Dec 1, 2024, the last price reduction was made in March last year, where Bernas reduced the BPI price from RM3,200 to RM3,000 per tonne in Peninsular Malaysia.
Malaysia continues to offer one of the lowest prices for imported rice in South-East Asia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
33 minutes ago
- Daily Express
LDP cautions against new minimum wage hike
Published on: Wednesday, August 20, 2025 Published on: Wed, Aug 20, 2025 Text Size: Ong criticised comparisons between government-linked companies (GLCs) and private sector businesses, noting that some large corporations and GLCs have set entry-level salaries at RM3,000. Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party Vice President David Ong cautioned the Government against implementing another minimum wage increase soon after the recent adjustment to RM1,700, which took effect nationwide on Aug 1. He said businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), need more time to adapt to the current wage structure before facing additional financial pressures. Advertisement 'Less than a year after the last increase, talk of yet another hike is premature and risks placing unnecessary strain on businesses that are still adjusting,' he said in a statement. He criticised comparisons between government-linked companies (GLCs) and private sector businesses, noting that some large corporations and GLCs have set entry-level salaries at RM3,000. 'GLCs operate under very different conditions, with guaranteed contracts, subsidies or monopolies that protect their income streams. 'Most private businesses, especially SMEs, operate on thin margins and face direct market competition,' he said. He said SMEs comprise nearly 98 per cent of Malaysian businesses and employ almost half the country's workforce. Many are currently struggling with reduced consumer demand, rising operational costs and cash flow constraints due to global economic challenges. He said premature wage increases could lead to unintended consequences, including job cuts, hiring freezes or business closures, outcomes that would ultimately harm workers rather than protect them. 'We must ask, what new skills or productivity gains have workers acquired in less than a year that would justify another wage increase?' he said, emphasising that salary increases should correspond with improved productivity and skills development. Instead of rushing into another minimum wage hike, he suggested the Government should allow businesses more time to absorb the recent wage adjustment while focusing on reducing living costs through stricter price controls and anti-profiteering enforcement. He also called for enhanced support for SMEs through training programmes, digitalisation initiatives and productivity improvement schemes. 'Workers deserve fair pay and a decent standard of living, but wage hikes must be gradual, realistic and supported by policies that strengthen competitiveness,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Malaysiakini
an hour ago
- Malaysiakini
Misguided: Why the HRD levy must never be wage subsidy
LETTER | I refer to the recent proposal by Human Resources Minister Steven Sim to permit employers to utilise up to RM2 billion from the Human Resources Development (HRD) levy funds to pay the salaries of newly hired university and technical and vocational education and training graduates beginning Sept 1. Frankly, I am shocked. This proposal represents a fundamental departure from the original mandate and philosophy of the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRDCorp) - a mandate clearly enshrined in the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB) Act 2001. It deserves serious scrutiny because it risks eroding both the integrity of the levy and the long-term development of Malaysia's human capital. Under Article 3 of the PSMB Act, the HRDCorp's principal purpose is to promote the training and development of employees, apprentices, and trainees through the imposition and utilisation of a training levy. Article 22(2)(a) further underscores that the levy must be expended only for activities that 'promote, develop and upgrade' the skills of employees, and for the establishment or maintenance of training infrastructure. In other words, the levy is not - and has never been - intended as a wage subsidy. It is a training fund designed to promote structured, continuous, and meaningful upskilling of the Malaysian workforce. Allowing these funds to be diverted towards paying salaries would effectively sever the vital link between levy contributions and training outcomes - a link that forms the very backbone of levy-based training systems across the world. It is arguably an ultra vires (beyond the powers) use of funds under the PSMB Act, which recognises the levy as a ring-fenced training fund. If the intention is to support graduate employment, then this should be done through normal fiscal channels, not through the misappropriation of a specialised fund established for a very different and critical purpose. Fundamental flaws There are several fundamental flaws in Sim's proposal. First, it sets a dangerous precedent: once the training levy is converted into a wage-subsidy mechanism, reversing the policy becomes politically difficult. The HRDCorp risks morphing into a politically driven institution rather than a professional body tasked with building workforce capabilities. Second, it will discourage employers from investing in genuine, future-focused skills development. Faced with the option of using levy funds to offset payroll costs, many companies - particularly small and medium enterprises - will logically opt to minimise training expenditure. In the end, real upskilling programmes will be crowded out. Third, it sends precisely the wrong message to graduates. The core challenge facing Malaysian graduates today is not the lack of a salary, but the absence of practical skills, real-world exposure, and industry-relevant competencies. What they urgently need are structured apprenticeship programmes, experiential learning opportunities, and industry placement schemes - not wage subsidies that do little to build capability. Damaging longer-term impact In the longer term, the impact will be even more damaging. Training budgets will shrink, high-quality upskilling programmes may be postponed or cancelled, and Malaysia's overall workforce competitiveness will decline. The HRDCorp was established specifically to safeguard against this scenario by ring-fencing training funds. Once that ring-fence is breached, the sustainability of the entire human capital development model is seriously compromised. Most importantly, graduate unemployment is a structural problem linked to the quality of higher education and its weak alignment with industry needs. It cannot be solved sustainably by permitting companies to use training funds to pay salaries. That would merely shift the burden from the public budget to the levy while leaving the underlying problems untouched. In a nutshell, Sim's proposal contradicts not only the letter but also the spirit of the PSMB Act. It undermines the long-term development of Malaysia's human capital by diverting resources away from genuine skills upgrading. If the government wishes to subsidise graduate employment, it should do so transparently through the general fiscal budget - not by dismantling a training levy system that was designed to build a competitive and highly skilled national workforce. The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Back-to-back scams cost man RM450k
Cautionary tale: Chong speaking at a press conference about the double scam alongside Liau. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: A scam victim who was desperate to seek legal help got scammed again – this time by a bogus lawyer, says Datuk Seri Michael Chong. The MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head said it all started when the victim, known as Liau, 55, joined a fake investment platform on April 10. 'He had responded to an advertisement by a so-called investment learning platform which lured him with the promise of investing in a purported China-Hong Kong Initial Public Offering (IPO),' Chong said in a press conference at Wisma MCA here yesterday. Tempted by the offer, Liau used his Employees Provident Fund and loans from family members to buy the purported shares. Chong said Liau had been pressured to continue purchasing the so-called shares every time the platform purportedly secured a new IPO, even though he could no longer afford it. In the end, he lost a total of RM390,000 and lodged a police report at the Wangsa Maju police station. Desperate, the victim turned to a 'lawyer' for help through a Facebook advertisement. The lawyer, who claimed to be based in Hong Kong, told the victim that his RM390,000 was detected at a casino in Macau and insisted that the only way to recover the money was to win it back at the online casino. Trusting the story, the victim handed over more money each time the bogus lawyer demanded it under various pretexts. 'I did not think it would be a scam, as I was too desperate to get back the money I had lost,' Liau said. In total, he ended up giving the fraudulent lawyer RM61,500. 'I never imagined I would be scammed twice,' he added. Chong said that this was not the first case involving fake lawyers. Meanwhile, MCA Publicity Bureau chairman and lawyer Chan Quin Er said that Liau was seeking assistance, and the scammer took advantage of his desperation in his bid to regain his losses.
