PSM says one activist hurt, chairman arrested in protest against eviction of Tambun farmers
PSM chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar (centre) is detained by a police officer during a protest in Kanthan, Tambun, on October 24, 2023. — Picture courtesy of PSM
Tuesday, 24 Oct 2023 4:26 PM MYT
IPOH, Oct 24 — Socialist Party of Malaysia secretary-general A. Sivarajan said one its activists were injured while four others including party chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar were arrested while protesting the eviction of farmers from their land in Kanthan, Tambun.
Sivarajan said Chong Yee Shan suffered a broken tooth and injured her nose after she was allegedly shoved by an official from the Perak Land and Mines Office (PTG).
Based on a video shared in PSM’s WhatsApp group, a commotion broke out when the farmers and activists present at the area attempted to block the PTG personnel and their vehicles.
Sivarajan said that PSM activists Karthiges Manickam, 42; Ho Pon Tien, 53; and Kesavan Parvathy, 30, were also arrested in the incident.
He claimed that the PTG officers were attempting to evict the farmers, who have been occupying the land for decades, despite their pending application for the land and ongoing discussion over the matter.
“Why evict the productive farmers when they have applied for the land and waited patiently to comply with the state government for alternative land offer?
“It was the state government who failed to relocate them (farmers). Where is the state government’s commitment to food security?” he said in a statement.
Sivarajan said Dr Jeyakumar has already brought the issue to the attention of state and federal authorities, but this did not stop the eviction process.
He went on to condemn the “highhanded action” today.
Sivarajan said there were about 200 farmers in Kanthan growing various crops and serving the local market.
“Since 2012, these farmers were promised lease agreements by the Perak State Development Board at an alternative location named Perak Hi-Tech Park.
“They were offered a replacement land of two acres to be leased for a period of 30 years. But the Perak Government failed to fulfil this promise and have now resorted to forcefully evict the farmers using Section 425 of the National Land Code,” he said.
Sivarajan said that PSM demanded the immediate release of four arrested and urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene as the farmers are from his parliamentary constituency.
Haiyaa. These anak pendatangs simply want to grab land here and everywhere and belligerently tanam pokok itu dan inilah ikut suka hati. Depa ingat ini tanah nenek moyang dari kampung asal mereka. Banyak cantik. Simply mau bikin kacau...
ReplyDeleteYa, betoi apa yang Eduard kata. Negara ini, sejak suatu ketika dulu, di panggil Tanah Melayu. Pendatang (dan keturunan mereka ) harus ingat mereka tak ada hak untuk menceroboh tanah kerjaaan untuk bercucuk tanam. Padan muka seorang petani haram terpaksa menerima akibat gigi patah dan hidung cedera kerana jatuh. Ingat, kalau keturunan hangpa duduk beratus tahun (malah beribu tahun)di negara ini hangpa tak akan dapat layanan istimewa kalau dibandingkan dengan puak-puak yang datang kemudian tapi mempunyai ciri-ciri istimewa. Ingat, dunia ini tak pernah adil.
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