An enforcement operation that involves 61 farms located at Sungai Ichat was commenced by the State Government on February 25. Its second phase which involves 50 farms is about to begin as the 50 farmers have received a 30 days eviction notice this week.
The Pahang State Government alleged that farmers were given eviction notice since 2009, therefore the question of giving more time should not be raised.
However, Pahang State Government’s claim that notice was given since 2009 is not correct.
I have found out that most of the affected farmers still possessed valid Temporary Operating Licences (TOL) until 2014 or 2015. For example, the holder of TOL (LPS UT/KT/F-420) can show us the TOL issued by the Pejabat Daerah dan Tanah Cameron Highlands, and was still valid until Dicember 31, 2014.
Besides that, I was informed that a dialogue session was held between the State Authority (Pihak Berkuasa Negeri) and the farmers in 2009, which was attended by the former member of parliament SK Devamany and the former Pahang Exco member Hoh Khai Mun. The outcome of the dialogue was that farmers are allowed to continue farming at Sungai Ichat.In 2002, the Water Supply Department instructed farmers to vacate the river reserve land, namely 15 feet from river to their farms to ensure that the river is clean. A septic tank is also required to be built at every farm.
It is hence crystal clear that the Pahang State Government still permitted farmers to continue farming even after 2009.
Until today, the State Government still could not provide us with a rational explanation via an official report on pollution in Sungai Ichat. Nor did the State Government intend to tell us why it did not firstly tackle the source of pollution at the upstream of Sungai Terla which now provides water to Kuala Terla Water Treatment Plant. Water pollution in Sungai Terla is far more critical than that of Sungai Ichat. It therefore begs the question of whether such operation is selective enforement or is actually politicallly motivated in the wake of Cameron Highlands by-election result?
The State Government should stop the Special Operation towards farmers at Sungai Ichat for some time and hold dialogues with the farmers in order to look for a win-win solution, or should issue a longer notice period since the State Government had been encouraging farmers to continue farming in the first place.