Dump Malaysian rice

Leonard today made a simple but very true observation; Malaysians don't like to eat Malaysian rice. Many would rather pay dearly for very expensive rice imports (that have risen by more than 200%) than buy cheaper and poorer quality Malaysian rice.

So there was never a question about whether if Malaysia had enough paddy fields in the first place. We don't need more paddy fields. Heck, we don't even need paddy fields. Let's say that imported rice really is better, therefore, if all Malaysians can consume imported rice, that would be an improvement in the average standard of living already.

What we need is for the government to stop their agricultural self-sustainability nonsense. Much productivity is wasted trying to grow Malaysian rice which can't fetch good prices because they simply fail to compete with imported standards even when they're cheaper by a lot! Might as well use that labor for something else.

But what about the poorer people that can only afford cheaper Malaysian rice? Import cheap foreign rice. Some may disagree and point out a cost is involved because we're importing stuff, but a cost, an opportunity cost is too involved when we keep labor at paddy fields as well. That cost is the difference of incomes between a low yielding farmer and a better yielding worker at some better yielding industry. If done correctly, not only will rice imports not be a bane, it'll be something desirable since after all Malaysian rice isn't of too good a quality.

Many of our so-called nationalists have a problem with imports (hey Americans have this problem too). They forget that not only the seller, the buyer as well benefits from trade. It is a win-win situation else the trade will not have taken place. No man is an island. So is a nation. Good news is, no one needs to be self-sustainable, not unless they're about to do something that would end up with trade embargoes from everyone else.