Residents protest against pig farm project

Residents affected by the proposed RM100 million pig farm in Kuala Langat today protested against the project in front of the Selangor menteri besar’s office in Shah Alam.

According to Bernama some 200 residents from Kampung Tumbuk Darat, Tanjung Sepat, Tanjung Laut, Kampung Layang, Kundang and Kampung Indah, gathered from 10.30am, carrying banners to vent their dissatisfaction over the decision.

The project is to be carried out in Padang Tumbuk in Kuala Langat.

Residents were quoted by the national new agency as saying that they opposed the pig farm project on safety and environment grounds.

A resident, Mohamad Tarmudi Tushiran, was quoted as saying that a majority of people in the area objected to the project as it could cause pollution, deter tourism and give rise to the spread of vector-borne diseases, particularly the Japanese Encephalitis.

He claimed that the area had already been the centre for small-scale pig farming for decades, causing pollution to the environment.

"We are worried that when the project takes off, the pig population will increase and this will aggravate the pollution further, with residents having had to put up with the stench from the farm," he said.

Mohamad Tarmudi, also the Ladang Tumbuk village head, further said that tourism in Morib coastal areas as well as in Kelanang would be affected as tourists would be repelled by the existence of the biggest pig farm in Selangor.

The residents later submitted a memorandum to the political secretary of the menteri besar, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, calling for the cancellation or relocation of project to Pulau Ketam where the majority of population were non-Muslim.

The new Pakatan Rakyat state government yesterday announced that the all pig farmers would be relocated to a centralised farm in Ladang Tumbuk within one year.

Khir disputes approval

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said the farm, which fulfilled the high quality guidelines approved by the Agriculture and Agro-based Ministry and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry , had been approved by the previous state government on Jan 30.

He added that the new administration decided to go ahead with the project.

He also said that all waste from the project facility will be recycled into biogas to generate electricity, water for the facility and compost to grow feed for the pigs.

"There will be no discharge of waste from the facility," he said.

At the same time, no new pig farms will be approved in the state, and all existing farms will be required to move to the vicinity of the project, added Khalid.

Former menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo however today denied that his former administration had approved the project on Jan 30.

He also said that the new state government had the option of cancelling the project altogether.

“The previous state government was only at the initial state of discussing the setting up of the pig farm.

“We had not decided on anything. However we agreed that the project would be on a small scale, not something valued at RM100 million,” he said.