The ministry said measures to ensure the availability of local white rice in the market will be announced once they have been agreed upon by the government.

“The ministry stresses that issues related to rice and padi should be referred to the relevant authorities to ensure the public receives accurate information,” it said in a statement.

It said it was referring to recent media reports citing statements made by Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, who chairs a government committee on food prices.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Syed Hussin, who chairs the National Action Council on Cost of Living’s (Naccol) food cluster, accused agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu of failing to deal with a shortage of local white rice.

He urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to give Naccol authority over the issue, adding that he did not want the agriculture and food security ministry or its padi and rice regulatory division to interfere in the matter.

“I will take responsibility for this. Just give me three months… God willing, I will deliver,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying.