KOTA KINABALU, April 6 -- Rice supplies in Sabah remain sufficient despite recent shortages reported at several major supermarkets in the Sepanggar area.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak) and member of Parliament for Sepanggar, Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, said he is aware of public concerns but confirmed that monitoring shows rice stocks across the state are adequate.

"I have obtained detailed updates from the Sabah office of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security regarding current rice reserves.

"I also visited storage warehouses to assess the supply firsthand, and our monitoring confirms that stocks are sufficient for Kota Kinabalu and the rest of Sabah," he said ...