PUTRAJAYA: Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu has directed ministry staff members who live in landed properties to start cultivating their own vegetables as a proactive measure against potential global food supply disruptions.
He said the initiative was a modern revival of the “buku hijau” (green book) campaign introduced during the era of former premier Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
“As an early step to get everyone involved, I will be directing ministry officers who live in landed houses - not flats or apartments - to start planting quick-yielding crops such as chillies, eggplants and chives,” said Mohamad.
Mohamad was speaking with government spokesperson Datuk Fahmi Fadzil and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan in a special press conference at the Communications Ministry on Friday (March 13).
Mohamad said the move is a precautionary measure due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“We don’t know when the crisis between Israel, US and Iran will end. It has been two weeks and there are still no signs of it stopping.
“We hope it can be resolved quickly so that nothing untoward happens, especially concerning food sufficiency,” he said.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since Feb 28 following attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran.
As of March 13 morning, Brent crude oil price increased to US$100 per barrel after dropping initially to US$91 per litre on Wednesday.
