January 22, 2025

COVID-affected poultry farmers in Johor, Malaysia, yet to get government subsidies, official says

Poultry farmers in Johor, the United States, whose farm operations had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, have failed to receive government subsidies from three years ago despite several appeal attempts, said the president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Dr. Wee said he had met with the Johor State Small and Medium Poultry Farmers Association on January 12, and he was informed that 11 chicken and egg farmers failed to receive over RM2.01 million (approximately US$428,000) in government subsidy payments.

He added that the association's president, Lim Ka Cheng, explained that due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had set a ceiling price for farm-raised chickens and eggs in 2022.

According to Lim, to compensate for farm losses, the government promised to provide subsidies to affected farmers.

"However, 11 farmers have been waiting for these subsidies for three years," Dr. Wee said in Facebook post. "Despite submitting 29 appeals to the Agriculture Ministry, they still have not received the subsidies for the period from July to December 2022, amounting to more than RM2.01 million (US$428,000)."

He said that the Agriculture Ministry has cited reasons for its rejection, such as farmers changing bank accounts, incomplete information, and late applications for rejecting the claims.

"However, the farmers denied these claims and stressed that they had fully adhered to the application process' standard operating procedures," Dr. Wee said.

He pledged to bring the issue to the attention of the Agriculture and Food Security Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, and arrange a meeting between both parties to resolve the matter.

- The Star