Kota Kinabalu: The return of China tourists will have little to no impact on Sabah’s food security, said Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin.
The return of mainlanders has stirred worry among locals who think they might have to shell out more for seafood in particular due to higher demand.
Studies conducted by various NGOs had warned of depletion of marine life due to overfishing.
State Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan in 2022 said fisheries resources had exceeded the 100 per cent Self-Sufficiency Level (SSL).
There are a lot of varieties (seafood). Generally Sabah’s sufficiency is at 100 per cent but when we talk about a specific type, it could be another scenario.
“Seafood is one of Sabah’s tourism’s strongest selling points. Even so, Chinese tourists usually opt for higher quality seafood. This means local staples like basung (bigeye scad) are unaffected.
“Maybe jumbo prawns will be (affected), but I doubt it will pose that big an impact.
“I believe the State Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries always monitors the situation,” he said.
Chan also said while many Sabahans think Sabah is the country’s number one producers of seafood, a small town in Perak called Hutan Melintang produces more.
“But Sabah has the best quality seafood because of its marine ecosystem. It’s just that Perak has superior aquaculture and deep sea catching,” he said.
Nevertheless, Chan said, both places are prone to illegal fishing by intruding Vietnamese vessels. Neighbour Indonesia’s solution is to detain these vessels and destroying them to send a strong message that theft of billions of rupiah in seafood meant for Indonesians would not be tolerated.
Commenting on the RM33 million frozen food bust here involving nine syndicates last week, Chan said he was glad the activity was finally exposed by the police after 10 years.
“Some might question why only after so long? It’s may be due to the complicated nature of the industrial food complex.
“Outsiders say it’s the work of cartels but we must understand if they (illegally) control the imports or directly from the source. A report issued by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) has mentioned that some cases involved certain parties manipulating the output directly from overseas processing plants.
“The government must emphasise on this food security matter as we cannot tolerate any more misconduct from these food cartels,” he said.
“Federal and State food ministries will be having more engagements in further solidifying the Unity Government slogan,” he said when met at State Minister of Industrial Development Phoong Jin Zhe’s Chinese New Year 2023 open house celebrations at Kota Kinabalu High School on Tuesday.
Phoong said he was glad to have hosted his first open house as an Assemblyman and Minister.
“We have done a few before but that was as a political party. I am happy to see the good response. If I am still given the support I would host it again next year.
“This is one way to show my appreciation for Pakatan Harapan supporters. We hope to bring new hope and become a beacon of unification for all races which is what Sabah is uniquely known for,” he said.
The festivities were attended by more than 700 people including Pakatan Harapan Sabah leaders.
