Assalamualaikum,

Saya ingin menulis tentang Beras, Bernas, 'Tentera Semut' dan menteri yang bertanggungjawab. Tadi tengok berita termenyampah pulak dengar si pak menteri cakap beras banyak sangat dalam pasaran dek 'tentera semut' yang membawa padi sikit-sikit (2-3 kilo) dari Thailand. Betul ke macam tu?

Mari kita kaji. Menurut "REPORT OF THE TWENTY - FIRST MEETING OF THE ASEAN FOOD SECURITY RESERVE BOARD" pada July lalu, " For the duration 1999/2000, it was estimated that the rice production was expected to increase to 1.47 million metric tonnes, an increase of 14.8% from the previous year. The domestic consumption was estimated at 2.12 million metric tonnes. Malaysia would need to import about 550,000 metric tonnes of rice for the year 2000.

Jadi kita kena import banyak tu. So siapa dia tentera semut tu? Laratkah mereka membawa masuk beras lebih daripada 100,000 tan metrik jika kita anggarkan lebihan beras sebanyak itu? Kalau sorang bawak 2 kg, 50,000 pun bukan, tapi mesti ada 5 juta tentera semut. Manalah logic .

Siapa pengimport terbesar padi dari luar negara? Baca ni;

Press Statement
By DAP Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka, Kerk Kim Hock
in Petaling Jaya
on Monday, 10.7.2000

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Call on the Government to reconsider the move not to issue new licences for the import of rice by products by traditional importers

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced on 28.6.2000 that as part of the effort to curb rice smuggling activities in the country, his Ministry has been directed by the Cabinet to stop issuing new licences to import rice by products like rice flour and vermicelli with immediate effect.

He said that import of the rice by products shall be totally taken charge by BERNAS.

The Minster's announcement has effectively meant that traditional importers will no longer be granted any import licence.

DAP has received complaints from importers who feel that such a Cabinet move is not only unfair to them as they have been unfairly painted as rice smugglers, it will also create a monopoly by BERNAS which will ultimately lead to increases in the price of rice by products and burden the consumers.

The government must produce proof that the importers of rice by products have been involved in rice smuggling activities which the Minister has said are now at the peak. Failure to do so will only and certainly justify and strengthen the importers' claim that such a move is to make them the scapegoats of the smuggling activities and to create a monopoly situation for BERNAS which will finally result in the consumers having to pay more in future for rice by products like rice flour and vermicelli.

In fact, efforts to curb rice smuggling activities must involve combined enforcement efforts of the Ministry's enforcement unit, the Customs, the armed forces, State Security Committees and the anti - smuggling unit.

The Ministry must also be prepared to look at the price of white rice in the country as it has been said that the higher price of rice in our country is the main reason why rice smuggling activities are rampant. Cut..

Jika di kaji betul-betul, BERNAS lah orang yang paling suka akan keadaan sekarang. Import sebanyak mungkin dari luarnegara, dan jual dengan harga yang lebih 100% daripada beliannya. Buat apa beli daripada pesawah Malaysia kerana harganya mahal. Kan baik beli daripada Thailand, then jual dalam Malaysia dengan harga yang tinggi. Inilah duit atas angin namanya. Tak hairan ke sebab tu banyak sangat beras dalam negara?

Harga beras yang diberikan oleh pihak Vietnam ialah 703 ringgit setan metrik untuk beras yang terbaik (5 % hancur). Ini dia quotation daripada BERNAS, lebih RM 1500 untuk jualan di Malaysia. Maknanya untung atas angin lebih 100%. Malah ada yang lebih daripada itu, contohnya Fragrant A (Imported): RM2,860. Saya tak cukup data untuk yang ini tapi pasti tak mahal sangat kalau dibeli di luar negara.

Nak tau berapa pendapatan BERNAS?

TURNOVER       1999        1998             1997 
               (RM Mil)   (RM Mil)      (RM Mil) 
GROUP         1,902.19    1,634.73      1,302.04


Profit Before Tax   1999 	  1998 		  1997 
 		   (RM Mil)	(RM Mil)	 (RM Mil) 
GROUP 	            120.47 	  9.18		  38.68

Banyak untung. BERNAS cakap untung sebab ikonomi sudah naik, tapi sebenarnya sebab-sebab di ataslah.

So bila nak turun harga beras?? Berapa banyak duit kita nak bayar untuk anti smuggling team, polis, tentera untuk jaga sempadan? Kan baik kurangkan saja harga sehingga hampir sama dengan Thailand? Rakyat pun untung. Saya nampak sebab tak nak turun harga sebab takut BERNAS rugi. Sebab tu aja? Sampai hati betul…. Dulu nak naik sikit punya laju.

Jika kita biarkan sahaja kepada 'market forces' dan berhenti menjaga harga beras, semua pesawah Malaysia akan berhenti menanam padi dan membeli beras dari Thailand dan menjualnya kepada orang lain. Ia akan berterusan sehingga harga beras hampir sama, dan pesawah Malaysia akan mula kembali menanam padi, tetapi lebih kompetitif setelah berjaya belajar dengan banyaknya daripada kawan di Thailand.

Thesis oleh expert kita di bawah mengatakan;

This pricing policy does, however, affect producers and consumers in terms of their surpluses or losses and the producer responses to various price incentives. Fatimah (1996) computed crude estimates of producer and consumer transfers as an approximation of the static gains and losses of producers and consumers due to the rice policy. Tan Siew Hoey (1987) and Fatimah (1996) indicate that the entire burden of domestic price support has been passed on to the consumers. In other words, consumers are paying taxes to subsidize producers. In the early 1990, consumers effectively pay a tax of 25-32% of the border price. The distribution of this burden is skewed towards poor consumers who spend a substantial proportion of their income on rice. http://www.econ.upm.edu.my/~fatimah/foodsec.htm

So kesimpulannya, penyeludupan sentiasa akan berlaku. Nak jaga camana sempadan yang panjang tu? Kan ada penyeludupan daripada Indonesia, Vietnam menerusi laut dan lain-lain lagi.

Bila harga turun, lebih rendah daripada Thailand, orang Thailand sendiri datang Malaysia untuk seludup beras murah tu. Tetapi ingat, orang Malaysia pun boleh seludup keluar, dan buat duit di Thailand. So sampai bila pun sentiasa ada orang seludup, kecuali harga di Thailand sama saja dengan di Malaysia.

So kepada semua tentera semut tu, hehe, teruskan usaha anda kerana hasil susah payah anda, harga beras cukup murah di Malaysia.

Engineer Terengganu
tolong@freeanwar.com