KL eyes national foodstuff reserve

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is to establish a national food stockpile in order to stabilise prices and avert shortages which have hit in recent weeks, reports said yesterday.
As well as the stockpile of essential goods, which will include rice and cooking oil, the government is to set up a national price council to prevent irregularities like hoarding and panic-buying.
“The overriding objective of the council is to minimise the impact of rising prices on the cost of living and the decline in the people’s purchasing power,” deputy prime minister Najib Razak told the state Bernama news agency.
Rising prices and shortages of staples had become a big issue in Malaysia, and a concern for the government as it prepared to call elections expected to be held in March.
Earlier this month, shortages of flour and oil caused supermarket shelves to be stripped, and restaurants to warn that some popular dishes would soon be off the menu.
The government was also moving to bar Singaporeans and Thais from taking home staple foods like flour and sugar, which are heavily subsidised here, to avert further shortages.
Singaporeans often make day trips across the causeway linking the island state to Malaysia to shop and buy groceries which are cheaper here. – AFP