Perak farmers welcome state govts offer

comments     Kevin Tan     Published     Updated

The Coalition of Perak State Land Farmers (Gapetak) today welcomed the state governments decision to offer them 40 hectares of alternative land in Gunung Kanthan when they vacate their current land which has been earmarked for housing development schemes.

The state governments decision to allow Tambun farmers to proceed with their agricultural activities in their current farms, was also commended.

It is believed that the development project will not affect farmers in Tambun.

This is in tandem with the farmers demand. It signifies the state government awareness of the importance of vegetable production and farmers contributions toward the countrys development, said Gapetak in a statement.

The decision which was made during a state exco meeting Wednesday will benefit those from five farming areas  Gunung Pari and Tanah Hitam in Chemor, Kampung Tawas in Ipoh, Tambun and Sungai Buluh in Sungai Siput  whose livelihood were threatened by the proposed housing projects.

This approach has opened a new dimension in the two-way relations between Gapetak and the state government, Gapetak said, adding it is always willing to discuss matters with the state government to find solutions.

The statement was signed by farmers Khong Mee Long, Wai Kam, Lee Kam Heng, Lai Ah Lee and Gapetaks coordinator K Kunasekaran.

Emergency meeting

Gapetak members also held an emergency meeting yesterday and raised several points.

The farmers want the state government to ensure the land given to them in Gunung Kanthan is vacant and their relocation to the new area will not affect the farmers who are already there.

They said the 0.8 hectare land offered to each farmer is small and suggested it be increased to one hectare each.

They also requested the state government to obtain the agriculture departments evaluation on the suitability of the land for vegetable production.

The farmers also want the state government to provide them with adequate compensation and give them enough time to relocate to the new area.

Meanwhile, Gapetak said it was not its intention to display courage when it staged a demonstration outside the agriculture ministry building in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The group was responding to a report in Berita Harian yesterday which said the farmers were courageous for staging the demonstration.

Gapetak said they were forced to find a solution at the federal level since attempts to do so at the state level failed.

Some 300 farmers from Perak took part in the demonstration to protest the state governments eviction notices against them.



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