PUTRAJAYA: The government will spend another RM4 billion to satisfy domestic needs for food in the wake of the global food crisis.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said addressing global challenges concerning food and fuel topped the government's priority, as their scarcity and rise in prices affected the people.

"This is the reality that we are facing.

"As government, we will do our best to ease the people's burden and this includes introducing initiatives to ease the situation," he said at the public sector Workers Day gathering at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here yesterday.

The price of petroleum has reached US$124 (RM390) per barrel, the highest in history.
In preparing itself for food shortages, the government had announced that Sarawak was set to become Malaysia's new rice bowl.

Abdullah yesterday announced that Sime Darby would work with the government to open up padi fields in Sarawak and Sabah.

There are also plans for a joint-venture cattle-rearing project with Indonesia.

The private sector had also been urged to venture into food production.

Abdullah said of the RM4 billion allocation for the Food Security Policy, RM2.5 billion had been approved to increase food production, incentives for farmers and for the national stockpile.

That, he said, left the government with RM1.5 billion, a sum that it could not guarantee would cushion a long-term food crisis.

The government, he said, must prepare to incur more expenses.

He said the government had to review all projects and allocations.

Abdullah called on the people to adopt a "0-Wastage" policy when it came to food and fuel.

"We have to watch our expenditure while the government continues to help."

Abdullah, who is also finance minister, said the government spent RM45 billion on subsidies to cushion the impact of rising prices of goods and fuel in the global market.

This was RM5 billion more than this year's development budget.