Tackling fishermen’s plight, distributors’ greed requires political will

Will the government have the will, the mechanism and the honesty to restructure the profiteering, exploitative middlemen practice, wonders JD Lovrenciear.

The media focus on the government wanting to do away with middlemen who continue to rob our hardworking, struggling fishermen deserves more attention.

It is always the same old protectionist arguments that associations and guilds use each time the government announces plans to take the bull by the horns.

Indeed even the pasar tani (farmers’ market) plans mooted by the government fell through the rooted middlemen stranglehold of our economy, leaving farmers in a quandary and at the mercy of this middlemen network.

So how now, when it comes to the fishermen’s agony?

The arguments put forth by those defending the middlemen seem logical. But behind those rationalisations is an embedded determination to never allow fishermen or farmers that freedom from the stranglehold of middlemen.

Can you beat it: one such association even had the audacity to say that those who in the bottom 40% who cannot afford expensive fish should settle for the cheaper ikan kembung (chub mackerel).

Will the government have the will, the mechanism and the honesty to once and for all restructure the profiteering, exploitative middlemen practice and instead put in place a fairer and more efficient, transparent and humanely oriented system that benefits all in society?

Or will we be back to square one after getting the votes as has been the practice all these decades?

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

Support our work by making a donation. Tap to download the QR code below and scan this QR code from Gallery by using TnG e-wallet or most banking apps: