A group of farmers from Chemor who are facing imminent eviction were given the cold shoulder when they turned up at the office of a Perak state leader who was entrusted to resolve their land problem.

The Coalition of Perak State Land Farmers (Gapetak) alleged that state executive councillor Ramly Zahari refused to talk to the affected farmers who waited two hours for him in his office today.

In a statement faxed to malaysiakini today, Gapetak claimed the farmers were invited by Ramly to meet him this morning to discuss the problems faced by 16 farmers in Tanah Hitam, Chemor, who were served with an eviction order.

According to Utusan Malaysia on Jan 31, Ramly is one of the three state executive councillors tasked to look after land and squatter problems in Perak

According to Gapetak, Ramly's secretary arranged for a meeting with them yesterday but it was postponed to today.

The farmers who went to Ramly's office at about 10.30am were told that they could meet him after he returned from a meeting at about 12.30pm.

"When Ramly returned, the farmers greeted him. But he went straight into his office without exchanging greetings with the visitors. After his secretary reminded him of the meeting with the farmers, he came out of the room and left without saying a single word," Gapetak said in its statement, which contained seven signatures.

"Gapetak also wants to know what happened to the promise given by the state government to the farmers in Tanah Hitam. Why were the farmers made to look like fools? Why didn't Ramly Zahari follow the Mentri Besar's instruction to resolve the farmers' land issue?" the group asked.

Malaysiakini learnt that the state government had offered the affected farmers 28 acres of land within Tanah Hitam, which come with a five-year title. However, there was no response from the government after the farmers replied to the offer.

The Tanah Hitam farmers were later served an eviction notice on May 17.