PUTRAJAYA, April 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reaffirmed the government has approved an allocation of RM1 billion to boost padi production in Kedah.
"We are giving RM1 billion, and it is ongoing," he said briefly when approached by reporters after attending the Health Ministry's Aidilfitri event here today.
He was responding to a statement made by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor during the state assembly sitting yesterday, in which Sanusi reiterated the state’s request for RM200 million a year from the federal government as a special incentive to preserve Kedah's rice granary areas.
The RM1 billion allocation was announced by Anwar during the tabling of Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat on October 18 last year.
The funds are earmarked for infrastructure development to support the five-season rice planting project, to be implemented in phases over two years in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority area in Kedah. Anwar launched the project on February 27.
The allocation forms part of a broader RM5.376 billion commitment announced by the government to increase the nation’s overall rice productivity.
— Bernama
