SUBANG JAYA, April 8 — The Jualan Ehsan Rahmah (JER) programme should be implemented more frequently if a food supply crisis arises due to prolonged conflicts, to ensure that the public can continue to access essential goods at reasonable prices.
Seri Serdang state assemblyman Abbas Azmi said the measure is necessary to ensure that prolonged conflicts do not affect people’s daily lives, especially those from lower-income groups and large families.
“If there is a possibility of disruption in terms of prices, I urge the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS) to increase the frequency of the JER programme. Looking at past records, when COVID-19 occurred previously, after the pandemic ended, people were only just beginning to recover.
“Selangor took early steps by implementing JER, and it greatly helped to accelerate economic recovery after the crisis. JER can be expanded further, as at present, the frequency of JER and the Jualan Rahmah Madani programme in the Seri Setia state constituency is four times a month.
“So if a food supply crisis also occurs due to global conflicts, I suggest that JER should be held more frequently,” he told the media after conducting a survey of prices and food supply at the Selangor Wholesale Market today.
Earlier, Abbas said that food supplies at the market remain sufficient, with prices still under control despite Malaysia facing pressure from rising global oil prices.
From his observations, food stocks, including rice, fish, chicken, beef, mutton, vegetables, and seafood, are at satisfactory levels and readily available.
Previously, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation's chief economist Máximo Torero said that conflicts in West Asia could increase risks to global food security, particularly for countries that rely heavily on imports of food, fertilisers, and fuel.
He noted that the crisis exposes the vulnerability of countries with limited domestic production and a heavy dependence on external supply routes.
