The govt encouraged the Raub 'illegal farmers', says Tras assemblyperson
by Wong Kai Hui
About 200 durian farmers in Raub, who have been restricted from entering their unlicensed land plots, gathered in front of Pasar Sungai Klau today.
Holding photos of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, and chanting "save the durian farms", the durian farmers urged the Agong, who is also the Sultan of Pahang, to intervene in the land dispute.
They made the call at a large-scale press conference held by Tras assemblyperson Chow Yu Hui and the "Save Musang King Alliance" (Samka).
Speaking to the media, Chow urged the Royal Pahang Durian Group (RPD) and the Pahang government to stop ignoring the historic fact that the so-called "illegal farmers" were actually encouraged into farming by the government.
He told the media that hundreds of farmers were encouraged to reclaim and cultivate empty land there in the 1970s, under the Green Book Programme (Rancangan Buku Hijau), and it was baseless to accuse the farmers of having occupied the land illegally.
Holding photos of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, and chanting "save the durian farms", the durian farmers urged the Agong, who is also the Sultan of Pahang, to intervene in the land dispute.
They made the call at a large-scale press conference held by Tras assemblyperson Chow Yu Hui and the "Save Musang King Alliance" (Samka).
Speaking to the media, Chow urged the Royal Pahang Durian Group (RPD) and the Pahang government to stop ignoring the historic fact that the so-called "illegal farmers" were actually encouraged into farming by the government.
He told the media that hundreds of farmers were encouraged to reclaim and cultivate empty land there in the 1970s, under the Green Book Programme (Rancangan Buku Hijau), and it was baseless to accuse the farmers of having occupied the land illegally.
Chow (on the left) speaking to the media
"During the times of (second prime minister) Tun Razak (Hussein), he launched the Green Book Programme and continuously encouraged people to cultivate the wastelands to ensure their self-sufficiency. There were also some plans to encourage the youth into farming.
"This is history. Royal Pahang Durian completely ignored this part of history, and the state government also chooses to forget this. In fact, many farmers started farming here (under the government's policy).
"In order to harvest the crops (in the land without plot permits), they even had paid land-use tax to the Land Office before," Chow added.
He also pointed out that RPD should withdraw their "false accusations" and apologise if the company sincerely sought to cooperate with the local farmers.
Meanwhile, Samka president Wilson Chang told the press that an open letter to be sent to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been endorsed by about 1,000 local farmers, including both legal and illegal farmers.
Chang estimated that around 70 percent of the durian farms in Raub are without land title certificates (land grants).
Although the durian farmers do not have any land title certificates to prove the ownership of their farms, they had been applying for their legal land certificates for decades, Chang claimed.
The government actually acknowledged their existence for a long time but refuses to grant legal documents to them, he said.
The Pahang state government had previously announced that the land the farmers were illegally occupying would be leased to the Royal Pahang Durian Produce-PKPP Sdn Bhd (RPDP-PKPP) in order to “legalise” the land.
RPDP-PKPP is reportedly a joint venture between the Pahang royalty-linked Royal Pahang Durian Group and Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Negeri Pahang (PKPP).
According to the RPD website, the president of the company is the daughter of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
"During the times of (second prime minister) Tun Razak (Hussein), he launched the Green Book Programme and continuously encouraged people to cultivate the wastelands to ensure their self-sufficiency. There were also some plans to encourage the youth into farming.
"This is history. Royal Pahang Durian completely ignored this part of history, and the state government also chooses to forget this. In fact, many farmers started farming here (under the government's policy).
"In order to harvest the crops (in the land without plot permits), they even had paid land-use tax to the Land Office before," Chow added.
He also pointed out that RPD should withdraw their "false accusations" and apologise if the company sincerely sought to cooperate with the local farmers.
Meanwhile, Samka president Wilson Chang told the press that an open letter to be sent to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been endorsed by about 1,000 local farmers, including both legal and illegal farmers.
Chang estimated that around 70 percent of the durian farms in Raub are without land title certificates (land grants).
Although the durian farmers do not have any land title certificates to prove the ownership of their farms, they had been applying for their legal land certificates for decades, Chang claimed.
The government actually acknowledged their existence for a long time but refuses to grant legal documents to them, he said.
The Pahang state government had previously announced that the land the farmers were illegally occupying would be leased to the Royal Pahang Durian Produce-PKPP Sdn Bhd (RPDP-PKPP) in order to “legalise” the land.
RPDP-PKPP is reportedly a joint venture between the Pahang royalty-linked Royal Pahang Durian Group and Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Negeri Pahang (PKPP).
According to the RPD website, the president of the company is the daughter of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
All because of today's lucrative profits of the Musang King durians, which no one cared about before
Related:
(1) Government instituted bureaucracy unnecessary and akin to Cartel-like leeches.
(2) Pahang durian plantations with "slaves"?
sudah ada crop baru mahu 30%, mahu royalty, ini kerajaan perombak yg tak tahu malu.
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