Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said the government needs to study the impact of the abolition to ensure it does not bring negative effects to the food and agriculture sectors.

“The original aim of the AP was to protect local suppliers in which importers are allowed certain quotas so as not to give negative impact to local producers.

“So even though the policy to abolish looks good, we need to look at the effects on the local agricultural industry, what assistance the government could give the agriculture sector, such as subsidies or easy bank loans,” he told reporters after a constituency event here, today.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Wednesday that the government had agreed to lift the requirement for permits for the import of foodstuff.

Muhyiddin said the council was in the midst of appointing a consultant to assist its secretariat on the national recovery plan as it covered the long term especially on the government’s focus for a faster recovery.