The Kuantan High Court has ordered the Pahang state government and Royal Pahang Durian Resources-PKPP Sdn Bhd (RPDR-PKPP) to suspend any eviction measures against Musang King durian farmers in Raub. They are also not allowed to limit the farmers’ entry to their farms until October 28.
However, half a month has passed and there is not a single indication that the state government is willing to have a dialogue or to negotiate with the farmers. On the contrary, the number one and two of the Pahang state government didn’t budge an inch as they continuously took a tough stance against the farmers, whereas some pro-state government NGOs even organised protests to fan racial sentiments, in the hope of diverting attention away to easily smear the farmers with baseless accusations.
Although the Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy said that the government will abide by the court order, he took a tough stance by stating that the government will not compromise on the farmer’s appeals. Another senior Pahang EXCO member Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar also echoed the MB’s remark by saying that the state government will not hesitate to take action against the farmers.
In the face of imminent huge disruptions to the Musang King durian production chain that this issue of agricultural economy will create, including the problems that the export market will face, the PN federal government remained sitting on the fence. The federal Ministry of Agriculture also had not played its active role to be a mediator between the state government and the farmers.
Surely, the federal government can shirk its responsibility by saying that land matters are under the jurisdiction of the state government and the federal government has no power to intervene. However, by acquiescing the collusion between the state government and the conglomerate to freely bully the small farmers as well as the vulnerable groups, the PN government had completely showed its impotence, thus rendering this entire issue one of the most shameful pages in the history of Malaysia.
The development of Malaysia’s agriculture sector is at the bottleneck as this sector is facing a series of structural problems such as long-term low productivity and a lack of talents, technology and capital. The two root causes are: First, the ministry or department of agriculture under the federal and the state government had always been working in isolation, thus various resources could not be integrated and their usage could not be planned coherently to maximise the overall effectiveness;
Second, even though the majority of our local farmers are small farmers, various policies and stances of the government had ignored or neglected the small farmers, while collusions between government officials and conglomerates were even allowed and left unchecked to bully and sideline small farmers. Hence, we could always see examples whereby the government acquiesced by allowing the others to smear the small farmers whenever there was a dispute.
Just as the Pahang EXCO Mohd Sharkar claimed, the Pahang state government has a notorious history and disreputable record of taking brutal and merciless actions against small farmers, from Cameron Highlands’ farmers, Bentong’s ginger farmers, Triang’s Oil Palm estates to the recent Musang King durian crisis.
I wish that we will understand that the Malaysia’s small farmers, even if some of them are the so-called “illegal farmers”, have been working hard and consistently to contribute positively to the society and the country. These small farmers are not criminals as they have never committed any hideous crime.
There could hardly be any peer all over the world that is in any way comparable to the Malaysian government that is so keen on oppressing and smearing the small farmers. The state government’s action against the farmers is therefore brutal, shameless and deplorable to the highest degree!