"What petrol bomb?"

This was the angry response from pig farmers in Malacca over news reports which claimed they had hurled molotov cocktails at enforcement officers.

Singling out TV3, the farmers expressed disappointment and anger with the television station for its alleged "misreporting and one-sided reports."

The reports, among others, were related to the tensed standoff between enforcement personnel and the farmers on Tuesday, which was sparked off by the decision of the state government to reduce the number of pigs in Malacca.

Contacted today, farmer Lim Oh Pah said other television stations such as ntv7, 8tv and Bernama TV had allowed pig farmers to air their views but not TV3.

"They (TV3) reported that the villagers used petrol bombs (during the standoff). I want to ask (TV3), where is the petrol bomb? Why wasn't the footage shown?" he stressed.

'Lopsided' reports

Lim said the other reports by TV3 which highlighted pollution on beaches and waters caused by the pig farms, did not show that numerous pig farms have upgraded their water filtration systems in accordance with government requirements.

"They (TV3) specialise in showing only the worse (scenes), which is not the whole picture. This is unfair," he added.

Since July, TV3 aired at least eight reports in the Malay language Buletin Utama on the issue before the state government announced that stern action will be taken against errant pig farms.

The reports included interviews with residents and businesses affected by polluted waterways due to effluents from the pig farms.

In one of the reports, the journalist had condemned the Alor Gajah Municipal Council, the state Irrigation and Drainage Department and the state Animal Services Department for giving excuses in not taking action against the errant pig farms. [See video]

The journalist, in the same report, also said that the time for diplomacy between the state government and the pig farmers, who are making millions at the expense of others, was over.

"What is needed is immediate action and not diplomacy. If a soft approach (to stop the pollution) doesn't work, the government needs to relocate all 89 pig farms to a more suitable area," said the journalist.

Racial lines

According to Lim, some pig farmers are planning to lodge a police report against TV3 next week, over the alleged "untruthful reporting and for fanning racial sentiments."

He said since the television station did not allow the pig farmers to air their views, especially to the Malay audience, it will cause misunderstanding and resent towards the pig farmers, who are Chinese.

However, TV3 broadcast journalist Karam Singh Walia, who was involved in the news reports, remained unperturbed.

"All the pig farms are unlicenced. Their structures were built illegally. They can take action to any court in the country," he said when contacted.

On the petrol bomb allegation, Karam said the information was provided by the police.

The veteran journalist, who specialises in environmental issues, also denied reporting the matter along racial lines.

"As far as my news reports go, my stand is on the environment. It has nothing to do with racial lines. I said the government didn't have a problem with pig rearing, but the farms must tow the line on the Environment Quality Act," he added.

He claimed that his team had tried, via a third party, to arrange interviews with the pig farmers, but they had refused.

Apart from TV3, Malay tabloid Harian Metro also reported that petrol bombs were hurled.