Pig farmers in Malacca who were staring at a bleak future might have just found their saviour - a group of professionals from down south.

The Johor-based professionals are attempting to help pig farmers to secure millions of ringgit in funds to help the them upgrade their sanitation facilities and other infrastructure.

This is to ensure that the farmers would be allowed to continue their trade, which is currently under threat following the state government's decision to reduce pig rearing activities there to curb pollution.

The professionals have dubbed their mission 'Operasi 99-2'. They would be helping the farmers in applying for the low-interest 'Fund for Food' scheme from Bank Negara to secure a maximum RM5 million loan for each pig farm.

Group coordinator Chong Chai Huat told malaysiakini that numerous workshops would be held with pig farmers soon to brief them about the 'Fund for Food' scheme.

"If all goes according to plan, they can put in an application to the banks by the end of October and the first batch of funds can be disbursed as early as a month later," said the chartered accountant.

Najib's remarks

Chong said the project was mooted following Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's remarks which were published in the Chinese language Sin Chew Daily on Sept 16.

The deputy premier said the Cabinet had agreed that pig farmers could continue to operate if they fulfilled the requirements to safeguard the environment.

'Operasi 99-2' is the latest twist to the tussle involving Malacca pig farmers and the state government which wants to limit the number of pigs in the state to 48,000 from the current estimated figure of 150,000.

The state government initially gave the pig farmers until Sept 21 to reduce their livestock numbers but extended the deadline to Oct 4 yesterday.

Failure by the pig farmers, would result in the forcible culling of their livestock by state enforcement authorities. An earlier attempt to cull the pigs on Sept 4 was met by resistance from pig farmers and protest from Chinese-based organisations.

Following this incident, MCA brokered a deal with the state government which has limited pig farming activities to the Paya Mengkuang area . Another 25 farms in the Alor Gajah area will be acquired by the state government.

Despite assurances from the government that the deadline had been extended, pig farmers are still bracing for possible enforcement action soon.

In Paya Mengkuang, farmers and their workers held a vigil from 8pm yesterday until 2am outside their farms against any possible encroachment by enforcement officials.

Company's offer

Apart from this, two pig farmers also filed for a judicial review in the Malacca High Court of a notice by the Alor Gajah Munipal Council (MPAG) which stated that there were illegal structures on their farms.

The Aug 21 notice gave the two farmers - Lim Oh Pah and Ye Yu - up to Sept 21 to demolish the structures. Failure to comply would result in a RM250 fine for each offence.

Lim and Yu filed the applicaiton because they believed that the pig culling exercise on Sept 4 was a result of the MPAG notice, and feared a repeat exercise would recur in the near future.

In another development, a Johor-based investment company has offered to acquire 100,000 pigs from the farms that are being forced to cease operations by the state government.

In a statement yesterday, Temasek Rock Sdn Bhd said that it had made a provisional offer to acquire the livestock from not more than 50 pig farmers in the Alor Gajah district.

Temasek Rock is also offering to acquire all the land, buildings and infrastructure currently belonging to the farmers at a price to be determined by international and local evaluators.

A company representative said the project would involve RM200 million.