SABAH TO REVIVE PADI AND RICE BOARD TO BOOST FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY

KOTA KINABALU, April 17 (Bernama) -- The state government has agreed to revive the Sabah Padi and Rice Board as part of initiatives to boost food production and ensure food security in the state since Sabah currently imports about 70 per cent of its rice needs.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the Cabinet will submit the recommendation to the Head of State for the approval of the establishment of the Sabah Padi and Rice Board as stipulated in Section 3 of the 1981 Agriculture Produce Board Enactment.

"Sabah needs to boost its food self-sufficiency and we will be able to do it with the revival of the Sabah Padi and Rice Board,” he said in a statement after the Chief Minister's Department post-Cabinet meeting at Menara Kinabalu here today.

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The state Cabinet has also agreed to give special permission to investors operating in industrial parks in the state to set up power generation facilities for their own use to attract investors and sustain those already in operation affected by electricity issues.

The Chief Minister also said that, in the bid to ease the power demand in Sabah, the state Cabinet has decided to allow shophouses, buildings and residential premises to install solar power systems without seeking approval from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).

On the Sabah My Second Home programme (SBH-MM2H), he said the state government has also approved the age limit of applicants to 30 years above and allowing participants of the programme to sell their property after five years on condition they must purchase a new home valued at no less than RM600,000.

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“Under the new policy, the appointment of the SBH-MM2H agents must be from local Sabah companies,” Hajiji added.

-- BERNAMA