Malaysia is currently very vulnerable and this vulnerability stems from the actions of previous governments that have ignored the needs of the agricultural sector and have focused too much on commodity agriculture and not food crops. The food security crisis in Malaysia is not a risk—it is a reality which now threatens every Malaysian, especially the vulnerable
Creating permanent agricultural land for farmers
The implementation of a framework for the gazettement of permanent food producing land is critical to ensure that the agricultural sector in Malaysia will possess a permanent stock of land for agriculture in order to ensure Malaysia’s food security. Such a system must be implemented via the acquisition of state land by the federal government.
Reforming Malaysia’s outdated land laws
The government must undertake a thorough and holistic review of Malaysia’s current land laws and reform the currently outdated system which affects farmers and fishermen to their detriment. A key reform that must be urgently undertaken is the extension of the maximum period for a temporary occupation license allowable under legislation from 1 year to 5 years.
Greater transparency in state land dealings
The federal government and state governments must cooperate in order to implement a wide-ranging mechanism of transparency regarding the sale of state land in order to ensure that the people, primarily farmers and fishermen, are constantly aware of the ownership and sale of state land by the state governments.
Subsidies for maintaining agricultural land
A system of subsidies from the federal government to state governments must be implemented for the purpose of compelling state governments to preserve and maintain land used for agricultural purposes in order to ensure an ample supply of agricultural land which can contribute to bolstering Malaysia’s food self-sufficiency.