Fomca’s 72-hour food stockpiling advice not a government directive, says Mat Sabu

MELAKA, Nov 7 — The government has not issued any directive for the public to stock up on food supplies for a 72-hour period as recommended by the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca).

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu advised consumers not to panic buy, but instead to continue shopping according to their daily needs as usual.

“We do acknowledge that we are concerned about the current situation, including cyber threats, but we have not yet reached the stage of issuing directives for the public to stockpile food supplies,” he said at a press conference after officiating the ‘Himpunan Semarak Tani Jualan Agro Madani’ in Bukit Katil here today.

Yesterday, Fomca advised consumers to stock up on food and basic necessities for a period of at least 72 hours, as a precautionary measure against potential supply disruptions due to global geopolitical uncertainties and natural disasters.

Commenting further, Mohamad assured that the national rice stock is currently sufficient for a period of six months and will continue to be increased.

“The supply of frozen fish is also guaranteed to be sufficient for the next eight months. So, there is no need for excessive purchases.

“Buying goods in excessive quantities will only create problems and make it difficult for other consumers to obtain supplies,” he said.

Mohamad said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) is also constantly assessing the current situation, including through collaboration with universities and researchers such as climate change experts.

As an initial preparatory step, he said the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM), along with private traders who have freezing facilities, have been asked to stock up especially on the people’s choice of fish in high demand in the market.

In another development, he said the government aims to implement 5,000 Agro Madani Sales programmes nationwide, compared to the 3,400 programmes that have been held so far.

Mohamad said this programme that allows consumers to buy goods at 10 to 30 per cent cheaper prices aims to ease the people’s cost of living burden, especially in rural and small town areas.

“We cannot hold programmes like these every day because local grocery stores also need to do business. So, we are holding it weekly to give people a chance to save money while also ensuring the sustainability of local traders,” he added. — Bernama