I refer to the letter Pig farms: Have sympathy for local residents . Yes, I repeat - it's Barisan Nasional policy to ban pig farming in Malaysia. Step by step, BN has managed to reduce the number of pig farms in the various states. Here are some of the evidence.
After the Nipah virus disaster in Negri Sembilan, the state government has yet to restore pig farming at Bukit Pelanduk and other areas. The promise of reviving the pig farming industry in the state has not been kept until today. Likewise in Selangor, pig farming has not been revived in the border areas adjacent to Bukit Pelanduk after the disaster. The Selangor state government has no plans to restore the industry.
In Pahang, the state government has openly declared that all pig farms were to be closed down by 2003. They were not shut down totally thanks to the protests of DAP leaders in the state.
BN has stopped all pig farming in Terengganu before the 1999 general elections. When PAS took over in 1999, it openly invited pig farmers to invest in the state. But as soon as BN won back Terengganu in 2004, pig farming was again banned.
Pig farming in other states like Perak, Kedah and Penang remains on a small scale thanks to BN's policy. It's important to note that under the PAS state government in Kelantan, there is no talk about closing down pig farms. Visitors to places like Kampong China and Kampong Siam would know that pigs can roam freely without any complaints from the local residents.
What happened in Paya Mengkuang and other parts of Melaka is most ridiculous and unacceptable.
Let me give an example here to illustrate my point. One of the pig farmers I know was told to keep the environment clean by installing the waste-treatment facilities if he wants to keep his pig farms. He did exactly as what has been told to him by investing several hundred thousand ringgit in the treatment facilities.
And now the state authority turns around and say that he must keep the number of pigs at a very low level - a level not viable to keep the pig farm going. Is that fair and just for the pig farmers? At Paya Mengkuang, the pig farmers have been rearing the animals there for more than 60 years, from generation to generation. No one is asking people to go and stay there.
The stench from pig farms will be unbearable if the farmers do not bother to treat the waste. If they are willing to treat it, no one should have any more excuse to destroy their livelihood. Please bear in mind that 'cari makan' is a human right.
It's the responsibility of the state governments to come up with reasonable guidelines to help the pig farmers instead of looking for excuses to destroy their investment. Do not forget that the pig farmers in this country have been contributing much by exporting pork to neighbouring countries like Singapore. If we have depended solely on the MCA, we would have to import all our pork from Thailand and other neighbouring countries a long, long time ago.
No more fresh 'bak kut teh' for you and me; how do you feel about that? Wake up, Chloe. MCA does not deserve your support.
The writer is a member of DAP's central executive committee.
