Junz Wong, the new Agriculture and Food Industries Minister of Sabah state in Malaysia, appointed recently as a result of Malaysia’s latest elections, plans to develop the tyre industry in the East Malaysian state. This move is to help rubber smallholders and generate new job opportunities in the state.
Junz said a development plan or mechanism would be outlined to make sure that the scheme can be accomplished as rubber is an important commodity, with emphasis placed on diversifying downstream activities concerning agriculture.
“Although the rubber production in Sabah is less (than some states), we will strive to create suitable mechanism to implement the plan. This is because the tyre industry will give benefit to Sabah people not just among the consumers and rubber tappers, but it creates job opportunities,” he said recentlty.
Junz reported for duty for the first time at the Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry’s office at Wisma Pertanian recently.
He also said he would give attention to the paddy production to ensure quality and the price for rice is reasonable.
He however said several matters including lands, drainage management and flood problems needed to be addressed before the plan could be implemented.
“All these issues need to be given special attention because we might be experiencing food supply problem if there’s no systematic planning.
“We will probably focus on Kota Belud as the rice cultivation area first. If successful, we will use the same manner to open new area in other districts to ensure adequate supplies,” he said.
Source: Rubber Journal Asia