PETALING JAYA, 3 Jan: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will be implementing several measures to ensure the commodity price stability of oil palm and rubber, involving about 3 million Malaysians should they be given mandate to rule the country.
Among them is to establish the National Commodity Welfare Fund with basic contributions of RM100 million per year to create a social network that helps every family relying on this commodity.
Apart from that, PKR Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that PR Governments will revamp the export permit system that is providing multiple benefits to some at the expense of the country’s oil palm production prices.
Additionally, PR administration will carry out close cooperation with the farming industry to reduce dependence on Indonesian migrant workers in the sector.
“Diplomatic relations and relationship with the government and the people of Indonesia should be strengthened because Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world.
“Relationship with the government and the people of Indonesia that fractured under the administration of (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Razak has complicated any adjustment efforts and cooperation to deal with the uncertainty of the world commodity markets.”
Anwar said this here at a press conference at the PKR headquarters today.
Anwar informed that the Selangor Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has been chosen to head a special task force to formulate detailed programmes to be policed upon.
According to Anwar, Abdul Khalid was selected on the basis of his expertise in leading national giant plantation companies.
He added that Najib’s administration policy of awarding oil palm export permits to stakeholders has resulted in the dumping of crude palm oil local markets.
He explained that this happens when companies that do not have export permits are unable to sell it in the international market because taxes cause their commodity to be more expensive that cargo from other countries.
As a result, the output of these companies are dumped locally, making the price of oil palm continue to drop.This is in addition to the existing drop in international markets,” he added.
Anwar said that the price of crude palm oil has decreased by 23 percent within a year, with the latest average price of RM2,477 per metric ton (first week of January 2013), compared with RM3,255 per metric ton last year.
While the offer price of grade SMR CV scrap rubber for the first week of January 2013 is RM9.61 per kg, compared with RM10.87 per kg during the same period last year ( a decrease of 12 percent).
