Kota Kinabalu: Senator Datuk Bobbey Suan said hill paddy farmers in Sabah’s interior should be protected from any action under the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Bill 2023. 

He said that in the 2024 Budget, up to RM50 million had been earmarked as a subsidy to further extend the cultivation of 43,000 hectares of hill paddy, particularly in the interior and upper parts of Sabah and Sarawak, such as Pensiangan and Tenom. 

He said the conventional agriculture approach necessitates burning the area before beginning agricultural activities on a small and non-commercial scale. 

He said that hill paddy planting had been an ancient practice among the Muruts in the interior, particularly on slopes and riverbanks, to produce rice and nourishment for the family for a year or two.