SEREMBAN: The Malays must shed the goreng pisang mentality and learn to become successful agricultural entrepreneurs, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

"When one person sells fried bananas, many others follow suit."

"When this kind of situation happens, eventually supply exceeds demand, causing prices to drop," he said.

The Prime Minister said despite efforts by the Government to promote agriculture, the Malays are still sceptical about venturing into the sector.

They blame the banks for not giving out loans when they, in fact, had not proven anything.

"You must look at yourself first. Ask yourself, how committed are you?"

"How often do you work on your plot of land? And are you committed in what you do?" he asked.

"Ask yourselves why are we still smallholders when others can have plantations? Why have you remained producers but are unable to process your own produce?" he asked in an of-the-cuff speech when opening the inaugural National Agriculture Convention 2007 here.

Abdullah said he did not mean to criticise the Malays but this was something they needed to ponder over.

"The Government set up Felcra, Felda and Risda to help the Malays but other companies involved in the same business are doing much better.

"Also, the quality and productivity at the privately run plantations are much better.

"We should be asking ourselves why this is happening," he said, adding that despite assistance from the Government, only a handful of Malay farmers and fishermen were prepared to work hard.

The prime minister wanted farmers to set up cooperative-based factories to improve the quality of their agriculture produce, adding that with such factories, they could diversify their products for substantial returns.

"For this to happen, farmers need to change their attitude and thinking as well as the farming lifestyle inherited from their forefathers.

"You can do bigger things if you pool your resources. You must think out of the box," he said.

Abdullah told the gathering that when he appointed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to head the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry "he came crying to me."

"I told him not to worry as there was plenty that needed to be done."

"For a start, I allocated a budget of RM7bil, so that he can get things done," he said, adding that he was happy things were changing for the better now.