The fish farmers, with the aid of Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) today, urged that Suhakam investigate the plight of the 39 fish farmers who are at risk of losing their livelihood.
PSM deputy chairperson M Sarasvathy said that the farmers have been in this business for more than 30 years, where their farms initially spanned across 162 acres of land.
“They found out that 137 acres of the land belonged to the state government, whereas the balance of 25 acres was owned by 15 other owners, who now want their land back,” she said at Suhakam headquarters earlier today.
The farmers informed Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph that in 2007 former Perak menteri besar Tajol Rosli had visited the farm in Kampung Bali Tronoh and promised to take appropriate steps to ensure the farm would remain.
However, despite the change of two different menteri besar, the issue had slowly worsened. More so, after many attempts by the farmers to meet the current Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir has yet to materialise.
Second generation farmer Ng Soon Chai told FMT he had taken over helping his father who was in the business for more than 20 years.
“That is what we know to do, we did not study for anything else, so without it how will we survive,” said the 37-year-old.
Ng said that they were not looking for handouts, but are willing to pay the government rent for the land.
However, Lee Kian Yow, who has been in the business for more than 30 years, said that the private owners are now chasing them off the land and they are not sure how much of the remaining land had been sold off to private owners.
PSM spokesman K Kunasekaran pointed out that the issue was recently brought up in parliament by the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ahmad Shabery Cheek who acknowledged the contributions of the farmers from Kampung Bali Tronoh.
In his written reply, Shabery had said: “In 2016, 1.5 million koi fish, worth RM1.5 million was produced by the koi fish farmers in Tronoh for domestic and international sale.”