Responding to allegations that he was against the idea of a centralised pig farm, Tanjung Sepat assemblyperson Dr Karim Mansor said that it was far from the truth.

Contacted today, the Umno Selangor leader said that he was among the original initiators of the project in 2002.

"When I was elected as the representative here in 2004, we found the area (Tanjung Sepat) under-developed,"he explained.

"Under the local municipal development plan 2005-2020, we decided to turn this zone into a seafood-related industry. As it is, Tanjung Sepat and the surrounding areas are already one of the biggest 'kerepek ubi' producers in the country.

"But as a result of pollution of areas surrounding the sea and drains, brought about by illegal pig-farming, it was going to be hard to develop Tanjung Sepat," he said.

In order to address the issue of illegal pig-farming and the pollution caused by it, the idea of a centralised pig farm was mooted.

Be fair to farmers

Karim explained that this was the best way to solve the problem as relocating or closing the farms was deemed not feasible due to the economic issues arising from it.

"We had to be fair to the farmers too. And despite the discussions, they were very reluctant to move away from the area, having been here for generations.

"As such, under a committee headed by MCA state exco members Ch'ng Toh Eng and Tang See Hang, we embarked on a series of farm visits to study their modernisation models," he added.

Among the places they visited were Bangkok (Thailand), Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Frankfurt (Germany).

The RM100 million centralised pig farm attracted criticism from certain quarters after it was announced by Selangor Menter Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

Khalid has since issued a four-page statement to defend the project, which was started during former menteri besar Dr Khir Toyo's rule.

State exco Teresa Kok, whose blog first attracted attention to the project, was also lambasted by the Malay-language dailies for supporting the project.