SHAH ALAM - Deputy National Unity Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal tells the government to find ways to generate alternative revenue and urged Malaysians to be self-sufficient by "growing your own farm”.
The government, he said was already doing their best by attending meetings with leaders from other countries to ensure Malaysia has enough access to more markets, especially those that they never been penetrated before.
He said this when asked about the country’s economic situation and inflation rate.
He said the real cause for inflation and increasing cost of living - suffered not only in Malaysia but the world - was due to the Ukrainian war and post-Covid-19 supply shortage. Wan Ahmad Fayhsal said although the government was doing its best - as the country relied on exports when it came to food, the people needed to adapt to plans undertaken by neighbourhood countries such as Thailand and Indonesia in regards to self-sufficient economies.
"We export a lot of things including food.
"The government needs to find ways to generate alternative revenue and they are doing their best going around meeting leaders to make sure that we have enough access to more markets that have never been penetrated before.
"But at the same time, we must replicate what our neighbours like Thailand, Indonesia and others have planned for a self-sufficient economy,” he told Sinar Daily.
He said it might look funny when the ministers or chief ministers were advising the people to grow their own vegetables and breed chickens and cows but there was no reason for us to depend on others when we can do it too.
"If they can do that, why not us? "Why must we be dependent on foreign or external markets to store our own food when we ourselves can grow them behind our backyard?,” he added.
He further said in certain low-cost housing areas in Kuala Lumpur, they have their own community garden where they do community farming and they share their resources such as vegetables and tilapia fishes with the neighbours.
He said this could be done by the people especially during these hard times.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal said more young people who were technology savvy be involved in agropreneur.
He said the country can produce efficient agropreneur swith the combination of the youths, technology and financial assistance from the government.
"It is possible but we need to give some time to the government.
"Although this was very important, when I went down to the ground, the village folks were very disconnected with what the government had announced thus they should send their officials down to the ground instead of just announcing it to the media,” he said.