No soldier deployed at durian farmers protest, say Pahang cops

Summary

• Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman denies viral social media posts claiming military personnel were roped in to help authorities handle durian farmers protesting in Raub.

• A military source confirms that several military vehicles featured in a viral video clip belong to an Army battalion in Bintulu, Sarawak and are unlikely to be deployed for an operation in the peninsula.

• Police have launched an investigation against durian farmers for allegedly obstructing civil servants from carrying out their duties.

Police today denied a viral Facebook post claiming soldiers were deployed to handle a protest by durian farmers in Raub, Pahang.

This comes after several Facebook pages published a short video showing four military vehicles crossing an area, with captions claiming durian farmers had blocked a road and caused authorities to seek the Armed Forces’ assistance.

Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman, as quoted by Bernama, said there has been no such deployment or order issued by the state government for military involvement in an ongoing operation against illegal durian farming in the state.

Checks by Malaysiakini also revealed that the four-wheel-drive vehicles featured in the 25-second viral video belonged to the 7th Battalion of the Border Regiment.

The battalion, according to a military source, is stationed in Bintulu, Sarawak, and is unlikely to be deployed for an operation in Pahang.

On Thursday (April 10), durian farmers in Raub clashed with personnel from the Pahang Enforcement Unit (UPNP) while the latter was clearing Musang King trees on disputed land near Sungai Klau.

A day earlier, Malaysiakini reported that a group of durian farmers involved in a land dispute with the Pahang government claimed that the latter had violated a court order by cutting down about 200 Musang King trees.

In a response, the Pahang government denied it violated a court order, with state legal adviser Saiful Edris Zainuddin saying the trees were on illegally occupied land, which meant the trees were not protected by the court order.

Meanwhile, Yahaya told Bernama that police have received three reports regarding the operation by the UPNP, police, and an NGO.

“We have launched an investigation under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which stipulates offences related to obstructing civil servants from discharging their public functions,” the police commissioner said.

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