About 15 cattle farmers in Batu Kawan, Penang, boycotted a meeting organised by the state government yesterday to resolve their relocation because their adviser, N Ganesan, was not allowed to accompany them.

Ganesan - who is Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PWM) national adviser - claimed DAP's Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto spoke for the state authorities and ‘blocked’ him from attending the meeting.

She had told Ganesan that he was not allowed into the meeting as he was not a cattle farmer in the area.  

The meeting at 6pm in Batu Kawan yesterday was chaired by the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and involved the Veterinary Department, the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and other groups of cattle farmers from the area.

Ganesan ( left ) said he was asked to attend the meeting by the cattle farmers as they had alleged the PDC was trying to evict them from he area, prompting flashbacks to the controversial 2009 Kampong Buah Pala episode in Bukit Gelugor, Penang.

The incident saw the village, populated by cattle farmers, demolished for condominium construction despite protests by the residents.

“If the authorities do not handle this situation imaginatively and differently, they will have another Kampung Buah Pala on their hands,” Ganesan said.

Relocation plan discussed

He claimed the state authorities wanted him out of the matter as they feared being unable to fulfil the demands of the farmers to be properly resettled as an integral part of the Batu Kawan development programme.

He urged the state authorities not to resort to harassment tactics as this would not help resolve matters for the cattle farmers.

The Batu Kawan cattle farmers had sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in July 2013, lamenting their plight.

'Only those invited allowed to attend meeting'

Responding to the memorandum then, Deputy Chief Minister (II) P Ramasamy said that the state would step in to negotiate for those who faced eviction, such as the cattle farmers.

When contacted, Kasthuri said Ganesan was prevented from attending the meeting as the session only involved those who were directly invited by MPSP.

“The idea for the meeting was to identify all cattle-rearers as well as those who look after the cattle in Batu Kawan as we wanted to discuss a proper relocation plan for them,” she told Malaysiakini .

“They were there to see what the state was offering them and their feedback was sought as to whether the new place was suitable for relocation,” she said.

Kasthuri added that she stopped Ganesan from attending the meeting as ‘outsiders’ were not allowed in  as some - like cattle farmers from Nibong Tebal, which is outside of the Batu Kawan parliamentary constituency - might have vested interests in the matter.