KUALA LUMPUR/SURABAYA, Indonesia ¨C It was still pitch-black outside when Indonesian housewife Sutinah made her way to a local police station early one morning last month, hoping to avoid queues and take advantage of a government scheme offering affordable rice.
Even though dry weather fueled by El Nino has led to a rice shortage and sent prices to record highs, the 52-year-old from the East Java town of Pasuruan was still shocked to see hundreds of likeminded residents already waiting patiently in line.
¡°By the time we got here it was already busy, we still had to queue. We had no other choice because the price of rice in the market is very expensive,¡± said Sutinah, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name.
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