THE effects of the drop in the price of rubber can be felt in Baling, a town in Kedah that relies on agriculture, especially the production of latex, for income.

Retailers complain about fewer customers while taxi drivers grumble about the lack of fares as the people do not want to come to town to shop.

Baling Taxi Drivers association chairman Ismail Taib said cabbies here depended on the villagers.

“With rubber and palm oil prices down, the village folk are not coming to town. Where are we to get customers?

“Some days we are lucky to get RM20. This place has no e-hailing services like Grab eating into our business,” Ismail told The Malaysian Insight.

The price of scrap rubber is at the lowest since 2010, closing at RM1.84 per kg in the peninsula, RM1.68 in Sarawak, and RM1.54 in Sabah on Wednesday..

Prices had peaked in 2011, when rubber fetched between RM7 and RM8 per kg, after which it had steadily dipped to hover around RM4 per kg. It had fallen to RM3.30 per kg by March 2017, and to below RM2 per kg this year.

Butcher Muhammad Ariffin Talib said his business has been down curve since late last year.

“Even though meat is not subject to the sales and services tax, people are not buying meat. There are those who settle for 100 grams which is about RM2.

“If we mark up prices, we can’t sell as the villagers have no money. If we sell at low prices we run the risk of loss,” said the 25-year-old.

Sundry shop operator Nurfatihah Mohammad Khuzaimi complained that business has dropped by half since January, about the time the price of scrap rubber fell below RM2 per kg.

The 21-year-old said the low sales had affected her credit with the wholesalers and she was struggling to replenish her stock.

“I used to be able to replenish my stock several times in a month. But now even once a month is tough,” she said.

Rubber tapper Wan Hamid Mat Piah from Kampung Cherok Puteh said the rainy spell was adding to their financial woes.

He said he usually worked 14 to 20 days a month.

“We could tap and produce 60kg of latex. Now with the current prices we can’t even earn RM500 a month.

“Now we earn about RM10 a day and we manage on that. A 10kg bag of rice retails at about RM25,” said Wan Hamid who shares his takings with the owner of the smallholding.

Mohamad Nor Manas, 61, said any help from the government was for the smallholders and never for the tappers.

“We hope the government will help us tappers. It’s not our own holding,” he said.

The government’s failure to lend aid to farmers, rubber tappers or fishermen in the just tabled Budget 2019 has become political fodder for former prime minister Najib Razak, who has asked  askied for aid to be dispensed to these groups.

Mindful of the political fallout, Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim said Putrajaya should look into aid for  them.

The prime minister-in-waiting urged the government to continue assisting farmers, fishermen and smallholders who require assistance.

He reminded the government that those seeking help were poor but the budget tabled by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had reduced aid to them.

“I ask especially that in the coming monsoon season, incentives such as fertiliser subsidies and padi production incentives be given to smallholders and rubber tappers, and include the fishermen as well,” Anwar said when debating Budget 2019 in Parliament.

“Land and fishery subsistence allowances, which were previously allocated RM12.5 million, have been cut to RM3.5 million,” he said, while appealing to the finance ministry to relook this.

In Budget 2019, the new government announced a RM4.4 billion allocation to the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Ministry, of which RM3 billion is for operating expenditure and RM1.36 billion for development.

In Budget 2018, the Barisan Nasional government allocated RM6.5 billion to the ministry with RM2.3 billion for financial aid and incentives such as fertiliser and production input, and RM150 million in monthly assistance of RM200 for three months before harvest for padi farmers,

Anwar said he understood the need for cuts but aid should be channeled to these people.

Reform activists group Otai Reformis is campaigning for the aid for the tappers and wants Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok and her deputy Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin to look into this issue immediately.

“Otai is disappointed that the government does not have a rescue package.

“Otai believes that the minister and her deputy are incompetent in handling the rubber price drop.

“(We) suggest the prime minister change them for leaders who are more ‘people friendly’, who can empathise with the hardship of the people who contribute to the national economy,” Otai Refomis committee member Abdul Razak Ismail said. – November 17, 2018.