After toiling on the land for more than three decades, a group of 36 farmers from Ulu Yam in Selangor have been told to relocate. They are not happy about it and want to stay.

The state government has decided to close the 600-hectare farm, one of the largest vegetable farms in the country, after it approved a housing project to Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad, a Selangor government subsidiary.

Although the farmers have not been given a definite date to move, they have started appealing to government leaders to intervene.

They sent a memorandum to Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo on Sept 30 seeking his intervention but had yet to receive a response. They are also seeking Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's help.

This afternoon, 10 of the farmers took their plight to Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang in Parliament House.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the group's spokesperson Chan Loy Onn said that they have struggled for decades to obtain a permanent land title but were unsuccessful.

They were issued with a temporary occupation licence in the past but this stopped in1991. They were then told that they could continue to farm on the land until it is needed for other purposes.

Livelihood affected

Chan said they were hoping that the prime minister could assist them with getting a farming land title.

On the relocation, he explained that it would also result in a price hike of vegetables and this will affect the livelihood of the farmers.

Chan who is Malaysia Farmers Association's executive secretary said that "Ulu Yam produces more than 80 tonnes of fresh vegetables, valued at between RM160,000 to RM240,000, daily in which 40 percent of them are sent to the Selayang market, the largest vegetable market in the country."

Claiming that there are no huge plot of land suitable for farming in the state, the farmers urged the state government to convert their land into permanent vegetable production land.

Speaking to reporters on the issue, Lim said the Ulu Yam case contradicts the government's policy of encouraging the growth of the agriculture sector.

"On one hand, it wants to promote agriculture, on the other it does not provide adequate condition for the people to work on it, such as the Ulu Yam case," he added.