Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam is now calling on pig farmers to limit their herd to 48,000 per farm, heading off a political fallout over the order to close these farms.

The state government's decision in March had come under fire by farm owners, opposition party DAP and even Barisan Nasional component party MCA.

"When I made the suggestion, DAP immediately interfered. Then MCA also contacted me because they were afraid of losing votes in the next election," Mohd Ali said in a winding-speech at the state legislative assembly yesterday.

"But villagers are still complaining to me about the farms. The media is against me, DAP is against me, MCA is against me, the pig farmers are against me - no one is supporting me in this matter."

Bernama quoted him as saying that the farms would not be shut down, but that the state government would set limits on the number of pigs on each farm as a way of curbing water pollution and the foul smell, among other problems.

"How are villagers supposed to tolerate pig farms with 150,000 pigs at a time?" he asked, saying he has received a stream of complaints about pollution.

"Fifty years ago, there were Chinese people rearing pigs behind my house in Bukit Katil. But now the farms are gone. Malacca is more advanced."

He also explained that a pig farm in Jasin was closed because it was polluting a water reserve area, while another in Bukit Rambai was shut down on a court order.

Adding that the state government's actions were not intended to harm any particular party, he urged MCA and DAP leaders to support the effort to limit the size of the herd on farms.