Opposition led by Umno-backed groups a political ploy, says official
By Chow Kum Hor, THE STRAITS TIMES
The decision has provoked the biggest opposition yet to the month-old state government, including public protests peppered with racial-religious overtones.
The Umno-backed, Malay-language Utusan Malaysia has published a series of articles condemning the proposed pig farm since the decision was made public early this month.
Other Malay newspapers have also expressed concerns about the project, saying that Muslims living near the farm are uneasy as well as raising environmental concerns.
Last week, about 200 residents from Selangor, believed to be backed by Umno, demonstrated in front of the state government's office in Shah Alam.
Ironically, approval for the project came from the previous Barisan Nasional-led administration.
But following the outcry, former menteri besar Khir Toyo said that the approval was only 'in principle'.
Selangor executive council (exco) member Yaakob Sapari, who is in charge of the project, told The Straits Times: 'Umno is politicising the issue. I do not see why residents, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, should be concerned.'
He said the proposed pig farm would be modelled after similar ones in Germany, where there is zero discharge. The animal waste would be used to generate bio-gas to power the farm.
Mr Yaakob, who is from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, also said he had photographs showing Barisan Nasional leaders visiting Europe on familiarisation trips to learn more about the technology.
'Umno is doing this to win back support it lost in the general election by harping on racial issues. Only it is making a lot of noise, whereas the residents are not,' he said.
The three PAS state exco members have backed the project, provided it does not cause any environmental pollution.
But there has been a clandestine effort to run down the state government's plan.
Among other efforts, posters showing pictures of the 12 exco members and the menteri besar with a pig beside each have surfaced in many public areas in Selangor. No one has claimed responsibility for putting up the posters.
Muslims are prohibited from eating pork, and any association with live pigs is also not allowed.
Under the project, a 135ha plot is being converted into a centralised area housing all the 200-odd pig farms in Selangor.
Democratic Action Party (DAP) exco member Teresa Kok, who first revealed plans for the project, said the farm was to be a showcase for the use of environmentally friendly pig-rearing techniques.
Malaysia remains one of the biggest pork producers in South-east Asia despite the fact that pig-rearing is a controversial issue.
Many pig farms in Malaysia are notorious for polluting the waterways with the animals' discharge. This creates uneasiness, especially among Muslims - a cause that many Malay parties are ready to exploit.
Chinese-based parties such as the Malaysian Chinese Association and the DAP, however, regularly champion the right to pig farming.
Last year, the Malacca government ordered 50,000 pigs to be culled, saying the farms on which they were bred were illegal and citing environmental concerns. This raised an outcry among the Chinese community.
The ensuing stand-off between pig farmers and policemen saw the state government rescinding the order.
Instead, the animals were ordered to be transferred to other states.
No comments:
Post a Comment