Once upon a time, the imported car parked on the driveway was an indicator of wealth, but who would have thought that in 2025, the avocado in our fruit bowl showed that you were rich?
Interestingly, fruit has become the latest political weapon to differentiate between the “haves” and “have-nots”, to drive through their ill thought out policies, and to punish the rakyat for the poor financial management practices of successive administrations. Are local farmers, wholesalers and the general population being punished for the government’s failed policies?
It is all very well to claim that the economy is doing great, that foreign investors are “beating a path to our door”, that the prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on his return from overseas, has secured albeit only on paper, billions of ringgits worth of investments. Would he or his ministers, care to explain, why the average Malaysian remains unconvinced?
On 14 June, the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) decided that a five percent Sales and Service Tax (SST) on imported fruits would be imposed and take effect on 1 July.
According to the Finance Ministry Treasury secretary-general, Johan Mahmood Merican, Malaysian consumers would not suffer much hardship as they would have ample choice from locally grown produce, including bananas, pineapples, including high-quality melons from states like Terengganu and Kedah.
Did Johan and his team consult the general public and consumer rights groups?
The SST will widen the existing wealth gap between the poor and rich. Denying the poor and making imported fruit easily available only for the rich, is exploitation. Fruit defines social class and is useful for behavior control.
Malaysians are very enterprising and those who are willing to risk it will start a roaring trade in fruit on the black market.
After the rakyat’s backlash against the 5% SST on imported fruit, oranges and apples will be excluded. Apparently government U-turns can be forced if enough protests are held to show the rakyat’s anger. This also shows that perhaps, the policy was not properly thought through.
A hint about this lack of prior consultation was given by the deputy PM, Zahid Hamidi, when he said that ‘fruits like apples and oranges aren’t grown locally’.
We could have told the policy makers that!
Are they unaware about which fruits are grown locally, which ones are temperate fruits, and which local fruits are seasonal? Was the Federal Marketing Agricultural Authority (FAMA) consulted?
Did the MoF consider supply and demand? If more Malaysians bought more local fruit as it is more affordable than imported ones, the demand may increase, the price may rise, and can farmers cope with increased demand, or will availability of local fruits be limited?
How often do ministers, politicians, and policy makers set foot in the wet markets of towns and cities to see what traders and consumers have to say about the cost of living crisis, and about the food items that are on sale?
The trader in the wet market will claim that business is slow, whilst the housewife will moan about the high cost of food items.
Local fruit is not exactly cheap because of the rising cost of transportation, storage, pesticides, fertiliser, irrigation and labour.
It is not just temperate fruits that are imported. So too are tropical fruits like bananas, papayas and pineapple. Price is not the only consideration because quality is also important. Some people prefer to buy imported tropical fruits, because the quality of such fruits is better, for example imported limes are larger, more juicer, and not as shriveled as the local variety. Is quality control only practiced by fruit exporters?
If the SST was designed to reduce our dependence on imported fruit, and address our food security problems, what is lacking appears to be joined-up thinking for our decision makers.
Land which was cultivated by generations of farmers in Kanthan and Tambun have been seized by state development corporations or developers. Do the authorities think that cultivation of fruit is just a case of levelling the ground, planting the seeds, then waiting for the harvest?
The suitability of the soil, the availability of land, the land contours, access to irrigation water, the accessibility to markets, and the ease of hiring workers, are all important considerations. The shortsightedness of local authorities in seizing established farmland will contribute towards higher fruit prices.
How effective is the Madani administration in attracting young adults to the world of agriculture? Our farmers are elderly and when they fall ill or die, will the younger generation continue their father’s work? Farming is seen as back-breaking, with small profits.
How attractive are the business opportunities, government grants and incentives to encourage young farmers? Will it invest in research to improve fruit yields and prevent disease?
The government’s priority for the cultivation of cash crops prompted many kampung dwellers, who once owned fruit orchards, to chop down their fruit trees and replace them with plant palm oil.
Who could forget the farmers of Raub, Kanthan and Cameron Highlands, when the local Land Department (Jabatan Tanah) reneged on their promise to issue land titles. Officials had earlier encouraged local farmers to cultivate fruit trees and vegetables.
If the government is serious about reducing our dependence on imports, make more land available for the cultivation of fruit/food crops, instead of the knee-jerk reaction of taxing an already oppressed rakyat.
Leave a Comment