YOURSAY | 'The MCO forgot about the food supply chain and certainly forgot about the farmers.'

Cameron Highlands farmers dump hundreds of tonnes of vegetables

Anonymous 2043: This is pathetic. Valuable fresh food being disposed of because of red tape. Why the need to stop and question the lorry drivers and occupants? Can't they see it’s full of fresh produce to be taken to market?

In times like these, any disruption to the food supply chain will only make people anxious. That's the last thing you want.

Now, there are a further two weeks of the movement control order (MCO). Please get this sorted out as soon as possible as we all look forward to getting fresh produce so that we don’t have to live on canned food.

Vgeorgemy: Such a massive waste of fresh fruits and vegetables due to the incompetency of the government during the MCO period is nothing but an economic crime against humanity.

Where are the leaders, and specifically, the high-level committee headed by Senior Minister Azmin Ali?

They must immediately contact Cameron Highlands Vegetable Transport Vehicle Owners’ Association chairperson Kwang Ee Fu and Tanah Rata state assemblyperson Chiong Yoke Kong to correct the situation at the soonest.

The current shortage of food is not due to the availability but to the blockage of transportation and disruption in the wholesale markets that can be easily resolved by the high-level committee.

Anonymous 77024: The lack of food will cause another pandemic. This could be even more serious.

This issue should be sorted out as fast as possible. A real win-win situation is where the people get their products and the farmers can keep running their farms and feed their families.

Some supermarkets are empty of fresh vegetables. There is also a lack of a lot of essential goods that are required for daily consumption.

It is time the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs wakes up. It has to find a solution to make sure that the supply of food, bread and vegetables is enough in the market before it really becomes a severe problem.

Sugar Glider: It’s a shame that green veggies are being dumped. Eating green veggies instead of processed foods will improve the body's immune system.

The authorities should allow more labour to help fresh food distribution as part of its war against the virus.

Anonymous_15433: The MCO implemented by the government forgot about the food supply chain and certainly forgot about the farmers.

No one thought about how to ensure that farmers could sell their vegetables, including sending their produce to Singapore.

Anonymous_15593: I’m puzzled as to why this blaming game has been triggered. When the MCO was implemented, everyone knew that this domino scenario was going to happen.

Why didn’t the Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers’ Association, Cameron Highlands Vegetable Transport Vehicle Owners’ Association, Cameron Highlands Agricultural Entrepreneur Organisation and Tanah Rata assemblyperson Chiong Yoke Kong prepare and work out a plan immediately with the relevant authorities and the government agencies?

Why a sudden frenzy of blaming now? All these associations should have a contingency plan in place the moment the country went into MCO.

Why are they complaining that the government did not take the appropriate actions? The onus is on them to work with the government, not the other way around.

These associations expect everything to be handled by the government. What is the purpose of forming associations if they can’t handle an emergency?

RKR: The argument above has a fundamental flaw. The government is there to work for the people, not the other way around.

Perikatan Nasional leaders keep assuring the people that there is no need to panic because there is enough food. What is are they doing to ensure this?

They should be facilitating the transfer of these essential products to the people.

Homo Sapien: Before the MCO was implemented, no one even knew this virus existed. How do you prepare for something you didn’t even know existed?

They are all farmers and simple people. You want them to come up with a plan? If they are so good, maybe they should run the country. Then there would be no need to seek help from the government.

Think before you accuse people. Most of the people in the associations are farmers and truck drivers. They work from day till evening so people can have fresh vegetables every day. Have some respect for them.

Quo Vadis Malaysia: There are lots of armchair commentators here with no idea on how the supply chain works.

You have a pipeline that has already adjusted to a given flow. When the valve is shut, even partially (the wholesale markets), you have to have a contingency plan to divert the flow elsewhere or slow down the flow at the source.

The implementation of the MCO does not take into account this situation and was implemented with the goalposts changing by the day.

For now, we can only let the situation find its own level. It won’t be ideal but I do hope that there is a lot of useful learning for the future when another virus or disaster hits (which will surely happen) and we will be more prepared then.

In private organisations (at least the ones I worked for), we have comprehensive business contingency plans that are constantly reviewed and practised to take into account business disruption from all kinds of scenarios. It is a never-ending process.

Likewise, I hope the government will actually sit down and seriously look into this for the future.

Stand For Truth: I already predicted this problem would happen due to the lack of foresight and coordination with those enforcing the MCO.

Farmers, fisherfolk, food producers and sellers are equally important. If they are willing to perform national duty during this crisis, why stop them?

When there is no supply of food, the people will endure hardship and panic will set in. We cannot afford panic during this MCO.

Please reconsider allowing support systems to function - food producers, transportation and mechanics to keep the transportation going.

To reduce the crowd, allow for work on alternative days. Shops can open according to their last digit registration - even numbers on even days, and odd numbers on odd days.

This is not a perfect solution, but it keeps the critical industries open and minimises the movement of people.

Sugar Glider: It’s a shame that green veggies are being dumped. Eating green veggies instead of processed foods will improve the body's immune system.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.