Jeffrey Ng, adviser to the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations, said the RM200 increase in wages would benefit low-income earners but would eventually lead to increased operational costs for the companies.

“It would be a net increase of wages at every level. You can’t expect that once wages are raised, everything (prices) will stay the same,” he said. “Eventually, the price of goods and services will rise… and it will be passed on to consumers.”

He said the wage increase should have been announced at least two years in advance, to allow companies to adjust in time, thus preventing drastic price rises.

Ng was supportive of a RM200 million loan programme by Agrobank to support food security and sustainability, but had doubts about whether it would help small firms.

He called for an immediate start to cultivating some 8,800 acres of idle land across the country, saying that further delays could reduce the benefits.

The 2025 budget set out a plan to use idle land owned by regional development agencies for agricultural projects such as organic chicken and cattle farming, and crop planting.

Abdul Hamid Bahari, chairman of the national fishermen’s group Nekmat, said members are elated that the prime minister has maintained diesel subsidies, while aid to build homes was raised to RM84,000 for West Malaysia, and RM90,000 in Sabah and Sarawak.

Anwar today announced that RM2.78 bilion has been allocated for subsidies, incentives and assistance for paddy farmers and fishermen, an increase from the RM2.6 billion allocated in the previous budget.

“This will greatly ease the burden of fishermen, helping to reduce their operational costs and improve their livelihoods,” said Abdul Hamid Bahari, chairman of the national fishermen’s group Nekmat.

Radin Firdaus Badaruddin, a food security researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia, praised the government’s plan to increase padi planting seasons, which he said would help both food security and reduce poverty among rural farmers.

Almost RM1 billion has been allocated in the 2025 budget for a padi planting scheme to harvest five crops in two years, which has the potential to raise farmers’ incomes by 43%.

However, Firdaus said the budget did not include enough funds for better facilities for fishermen such as jetties and cold storage.

Firdaus also said there must be efforts to push for better enforcement in Malaysian waters to prevent foreign fishing boats.