Studies conducted in Perak have revealed that 82.2 percent of Orang Asli children are suffering from vitamin A deficiency, said Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN-AP) executive director Sarojeni V Rengam.

Speaking during the launch of People's Caravan in Permatang Pauh yesterday, she said the findings also showed that rural Malaysian children were generally "underweight and stunted".

"It's hard to get real figures in Malaysia but the studies have indicated just that. In a country that prides itself as a newly industrialising one, this is totally unacceptable," she said.

"We have the third-tallest building and third-longest bridge in the world and yet cannot feed our people."

The Caravan, organised by PAN AP and local host Tenaganita, is an internationally-linked programme involving thousands of farmers and agricultural producers in Asia and Europe.

In Malaysia, it will visit plantations in Perak and an Orang Asli community in Pulau Carey this week.

'Time for reform'

Permatang Pauh member of Parliament and Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail launched the event, which included a children's art competition, a pantomime on peasants' struggles and poetry reading. A food and fruit fair was also held, attracting some 1,000 people from nearby villages.

Wan Azizah also released 30 white pigeons as a sign of freedom to mark the 47th Merdeka celebrations.

She expressed shock over the findings of the studies, which also claimed that 20 percent of Malaysian children below the age of five are malnourished.

"We are in a dire need of reformasi in the agricultural sector, which has been neglected for far too long," she said.

"We must take steps to strengthen the farmers' movements because these are the people who have built this country with their sweat and blood, although they are often the first ones to be abandoned."

A VCD presentation on reformasi in agriculture, depicting local farmers' uprising in the early 1980s as well as excerpts of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's speeches on agricultural reform, caught the crowd's attention

The highlight of the event was the exchange of seeds and soil between Wan Azizah and Nepalese peasant leaders who were guests. The items will be taken back to Nepal for the closing programme at the end of this month.

The Caravan is set to visit 13 countries in Asia and three in Europe, and will have simultaneous programmes on food sovereignty, rights to land and food, globalisation and resistance against international institutions like the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Reclaiming rights

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez who said Malaysians were at the crossroads in deciding whether it is more important to have food for profit or to ensure quality of life.

"Don't you think it is our responsibility to preserve our farmland and our skills, and to protect our Orang Asli community?" she asked.

Asia Pacific Research Network chairperson Antonio Tujan Jr, who was present, said the Caravan is about reclaiming rights and independence, while food sovereignty is about freedom and self-determination of people.

"(In contrast to this) globalisation is a form of re-colonialisation which has destroyed the lives and economies of people," he said.

All Nepal Peasant Association chairperson Bamdev Gautam said multi-national companies (MNCs) are endangering the livelihood of farmers, fisher-folk and agricultural producers.

"They have taken ownership of our lands, seeds, and water. The MNCs, who are mostly from North America and Europe are using our countries as dumping grounds," said Bamdev, the former deputy prime minister of Nepal.

"We are losing our rights and we want to claim this back. When the Caravan hits all these countries, we are going to tackle all the issues at grassroots level," he added.

SUSAN LOONE is a researcher at Pesticide Action Network Asia-Pacific, a regional non-governmental organisation based in Penang, Malaysia.