Saturday 27 Apr 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 11, 2018

KETEREH: Barisan Nasional (BN) will introduce additional funding for paddy farmers if it remains as the federal government after the 14th general election (GE14), a minister said yesterday.

The additional allocation will be announced on the night of the polling day if the election results favour the incumbent, said Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

In Budget 2018 tabled in October last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced an allocation of RM150 million specifically for paddy farmers.

“I will not reveal [the additional allocation] here,” said Ahmad Shabery.

“The additional funding will be announced on the night after the election, if our PM (Najib) remains as PM,” he told a crowd of some 1,000 paddy farmers here.

Ahmad Shabery was distributing monetary assistance — worth RM600 each — to representatives of 5,368 eligible paddy farmers in Kelantan under the Agricultural Development Authority for the three months between the paddy planting and harvesting season.

The monetary assistance was also announced during Budget 2018, which the government expects will benefit 57,000 paddy farmers nationwide.

 

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