Perlis should be at the forefront of Malaysia's agriculture sector - Perlis

KANGAR - Perlis PKR hopes that the federal government will empower Perlis with sustainable farming practices to allow it to be at the forefront of the country’s agriculture sector, says its deputy chairman Asrul Nizan Abd Jalil.

He said land in Perlis was fertile and suitable for development as proposed by the 10th Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his latest book 'Building a Civilised Nation - Vision and Reform Policy Framework'.

"The effort is in line with the need for programmes to increase food security to deal with the rising food prices," he said in a statement today.

The former Sena state assemblyman said with the federal government’s help, Perlis could cultivate large-scale grain corn to reduce dependency on imported grain corn, adding that the grain corn grown in the state has been graded as the best in the country while the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has graded the crop third best in the world.

He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto for the 15th General Election (GE15) which promised subsidy cards or e-wallets for farmers was also good news for rice farmers in the state who wanted the National Padi and Rice Board to be reinstated to eliminate monopoly in the food sector.

He said Anwar had also proposed implementing large-scale solar projects to boost development in poor states including Perlis, in addition to exploring green energy prospects.

"All the best to the 10th PM on whom we set new hope for Perlis to change for the better and emerge as a sustainable state for the well-being of the people,” he added. - BERNAMA