About 100 villagers, with Malay NGO Perkasa, gave a memorandum to the Selangor Menteri Besar today to protest the construction of a modernised pig farm in Kampung Sepat, Kuala Langat.

As Azmin Ali is attending to the plight of flood victims in Kelantan at the moment, the memorandum was instead accepted by his press secretary Radzi Razak at the Selangor State Secretariat (SUK) building.

Shortly after the handing over of the memorandum to Radzi, a man claiming to be one of the villagers tried to push past police behind the gates to hand the absent Azmin a pair of what he claimed to be Mutiara chickens.

The man, sounding and acting extremely agitated, was not happy that Azmin himself did not come to receive the memorandum and his birds, and he made DSP Che Din Ali from IPD Shah Alam promise to “help” him get the animals there.

He told reporters that the birds were a sign of “love”. However, he was soon escorted off the premises.

The group today said they are not against the consumption of pork by other races but are unhappy to have so many farms built in a Muslim-majority area.

"There used to be around two or three farms before, but now there are more than 62 pig farms in the village area,” said Ladang Tumbok village chief Mohamad Tarmudi Dushiran.

“From the time Barisan National ruled the area, I was already opposed to it, as my village is polluted with the smell of pigs. Not just that, it’s also their (pigs) waste. They even throw away piglets near drains. It’s disgusting,” he told reporters today.

He added that if the state boasts having world class airports, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, why is it so difficult to deal with pig farms.

“It’s not about the technology of the pig farms. There are risks involved with pig farming. It has happened before in Bukit Pelanduk with the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Nipah viruses, and only then did we start panicking. It was too late by then,” Tarmudi added.

'Build the farms in areas with high pork consumers'

Meanwhile Selangor Perkasa chief Abu Bakar Yahya reiterated that the pig farms should be built in villages with high pork consumers like the Chinese and Indians.

“Do it in their area, not in the Malay areas. There’s no denying that Malays are sensitive when it comes to pigs. Even if the government implements something, the people have the right to oppose.

“Why is the government so adamant on approving the building of a pig farm in that village? Are there that many pork consumers in Selangor that the government needs to build such a massive farm?

“What, you think Malay people are without honour? You give all the dirty places to us. Where is the dignity for the Malays?” he lamented.

Abu Bakar then said that Malay leaders such as Azmin should speak up and fight for the rights of the Malays.

Azmin had previously indicated that he is considering an application for a pig farm in Ladang Tumbok, Kuala Langat.

Perkasa supreme council member Azrul Akmal Saharudin has taken issue with Azmin’s decision to table the proposal of the pig farm, and it seemed as though the proposal will be successful and the MB has given his blessings.

The proposal for the farm was tabled on Dec 16 and is currently awaiting the state’s approval.