When Mr. Potato replaces rice

Rice is part of Malaysians’ dietary diet and source of carbohydrate for most Asians, besides wheat. Our ancestors have been taking rice for thousands of years. Ask the Malay, Chinese, Indian or Pribumi. They all take rice and its common that everyone realizes that rice is nutritious, and part of our food culture. We even have proverb in Malaysia related to rice such as harapkan pagar pagar makan padi. Conclusion is, rice is a symbol of life in our society.

In the latest development, due to global rice crisis, the government is advising the people to take potatoes (ubi) as an alternative diet to the rice. Gotcha! This is the manifesto BN used against PR during the election. Their seditious remark saying that PR will only creates hunger and potato will haunt the people back, just like their ancestors during the Japanese occupation. Now who’s the one that initiate potatoes intake for the people?

In actual fact, the current rice crisis was partially due to the failure of Dr. M’s policy during his industrialism era. During those days, many were so obsessed and proud of our various manufacturing industries. Goverment bought paddy fields and turn it into modern industrial zones. Because we focused too much on industries, we neglect the contributions from the food sectors such as rice although they don’t really generate export income at that time. And now under sleepy Dollah, when the rice crisis occurs, the government expects the people to pay the price for their mistakes?

Imagine if rice is totally replaced with ubi kentang, kayu, keledek:

1. Increase numbers of Malaysians having constipation problem due to excessive intake of certain ubi. Then the still living grandparents will start nagging at our ears about their struggles eating ubi kayu during WW II.

2. Due to its high demands, the crime of stealing potatoes at farms will increase because of their good selling price. Cable thieves might consider stealing potatoes.

3. Setup of more MUFC (not Manchester United FC but Malaysian Ubi Fried Chicken) to fulfill Malaysians new appetite for potatoes served with chickens.

4. More desperate policemen will no longer thirst for coffee but hunger for potatoes.

5. When nasi lemak becomes ubi lemak, nasi ayam becomes ubi ayam, nasi kandar becomes ubi kandar. Yukkss! Imagine the new looking dunks as a result of diarrhea served in plates.

6. Malay proverb such as nasi sudah jadi bubur will fade away and slowly ubi sudah jadi coleslaw will become synonym to our life.

The people’s power would like to suggest to the government on the following ways to bulk up rice production:

1. The government should go down and track each rice distributor to analyze the cost of rice. It is this group of people who will affect the grocery price of rice. There’s no point issuing finds to grocery shop owners if the problem is due to high distributor’s price.

2. Cabinet ministers should start taking potatoes first, as a role model to the people. No point of advising people to control spending or eat potatoes if they don’t show the practical example to the people.

3. The government should double up their efforts to encourage research on increasing the productivity of rice production. The demands from the ever-increasing Malaysian population prove that rice is really in high demands.

4. The government should encourage cropping of padi huma, which is currently common in Sabah and Sarawak, nationwide. This rice species need less water and less care too.

5. The contributions from paddy farmers should be honoured in special public holiday. We have labour day, teachers’ day, secretaries’ day, farmers’ day, police’ day and should consider gazetting paddymen’s day.

In fact, many of us never really appreciate the rice that we take daily if not due to the rice crisis. Some people have the habit of not finishing their rice during meal leaving a legacy of food wastage in the society. And for the paddy farmers, credits should be given for their sacrifices, as the basic supplier to the food chain. In fact, natives of Sabah and Sarawak have been celebrating their harvested paddy for many years during Hari Gawai and Hari Keamatan. As for potatoes, there shouldn’t be ruled out from our food choices. But nothing else is better than eating rice for Malaysian people.

As for BN government, after this you should stop cursing PR as only capable of promising potatoes to that of the struggling people of war. See, now you’re in that cursed situation.