Besides his main focus pushing for clean and fair elections, Tindak Malaysia’s founder, PY Wong is also an avid hobbyist, who believes that the simple methods of food production that he has developed will help avert Malaysia from a national food security crisis.

Wong believes that in order for the country to keep its sovereignty, Malaysians have to be involved in some form of food production. “We are importing a lot of our food,” he said. “It is time that Malaysians start to produce their own food. As a nation, the amount of food produced by every household collectively can be very significant. Besides, we also encourage the use of organic fertilisers.”

He says food production can be done easily in one’s backyard, beginning with the composting of food wastes and the leftovers from vegetables and other garden plants. “It just takes some patience, and efforts,” he said.

Currently, Wong ( left ) spends many hours at his home in Subang Jaya to experiment with various forms of composting, which he hopes to reproduce in households throughout the country. He is prepared to teach groups of people on how to set up their own composting centres at home, and start planting their own organic vegetables.

After several months of experimenting, with the help of some friends, he has designed a simple composting machine which allows him to separate the earthworms from the fine composts which he uses for his vegetables.

He said one used tyre in the backyard is all that one needs to start a household composting centre. “With a cover on top of the tyre, this is an ideal place where you can throw in all our food wastes,” he said. “They become very good organic fertilisers, which can be used to plant vegetables.”

From one pot of composts, Wong’s Luffa vine is able to produce about 20 Luffa, which he said, can be sold for a few ringgit each at wet markets. “This is a good source of income especially for single mothers,” he said. “Besides, once dried, Luffa can also be used as organic sponge. This is sold in organic shops.”

According to Wong, fruit peels are best for producing urea which can be sprayed on leaves of plants. The peels can be kept in a container and over time, the leachate is collected. “Diluted one-to-five parts, the leachate which contains a high concentration of urea can be sprayed onto leaves, and within a day or two, you can see the difference in your plants,” he added.

Wong is also working on improving the livelihood of the people in rural areas, where he hopes to set up a marketing system that allows their produce to reach the urban residents. “We are encouraging them to use organic fertilisers which they can produce themselves,” he said.

The middlemen, Wong added, have been suppressing the prices of foodstuff produced by these poor farmers, but the moment they reach the wet markets, the prices have doubled or tripled in some instances.

“By cutting off the middlemen, this will hopefully bridge the divide between the urban and rural folks,” he said. “We will begin a pick-up centre for groceries in Subang Jaya to begin with. By ordering in advance, it helps the rural folk to plan ahead their food production.”