Rice sale ban worth considering

THE suggestion by Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh that local white rice should only be sold to Malaysians as a temporary measure to address the current shortage of this staple food in the market merits consideration.

The shortage has pushed the price of local white rice up, thereby adding to the financial burden of the public who are already spending more on basic necessities due to the high cost of living. When certain groups are restricted or banned from buying local white rice, this will increase the supply of the commodity in the market, thereby enabling more Malaysians, in particular low-income households, to buy it.