COUPONS FOR FREE RICE TO BE ISSUED TO HARDCORE POOR FAMILIES

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- The government will issue coupons for
free rice for 200,000 poor families nationwide by the year end.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Omar said this new scheme
did not mean that the price of rice was going up, but was to replace the
subsidy given to rice millers and wholesalers which cost the government RM60
million a month. (US$1=RM3.40)

He said under the scheme, about 43,500 urban and rural hardcore poor
families earning RM450 and RM420 per month respectively would each receive a
coupon for 30kg of free rice each month, while over 150,000 families earning
RM1,500 monthly in the urban areas and RM1,000 in the rural areas would each
receive three subsidy coupons of RM10 each every six months.

The new scheme would be launched by Prime Minister Najib Razak in east coast
royal town of Pekan in the state of Pahang in mid-November, Noh said after
briefing government officers and members of parliament on the Rice Subsidy
Programme for the People (Subur), here, Monday.

He said about 15,000 Orang Asli (aboriginal people) families nationwide
would also benefit from the scheme.

Noh said the recipients of the RM10 coupons would be eligible to buy
ST15-grade rice costing RM24 for 10kg at RM14 instead, and if they wished to buy
more expensive rice, they would have to pay only the price difference.

"The coupons will be distributed through the members of parliament,
including from the opposition, to the recipients according to the official list
on the Prime Minister's Department's portal on poverty eradication, e-Kasih.

Noh said 54,000 rice retailers and 1,200 wholesalers nationwide would be
notified on the implementation of the coupon system.

"The coupons are as good as cash, so there's no reason for retailers not to
accept the coupons. All they have to do is to hand over the coupons to the
wholesalers for cash," he said, adding that if they (retailers) refused to
accept the coupons, their retail licence could be withdrawn.
-- BERNAMA