The human resources, health, Indian community affairs and national integration committee chairman said most of the existing farms are long-established operations on private land, set up before the introduction of modern farming guidelines.

“As chairman of the pig farm restructuring committee, I have worked closely with the veterinary services and health departments, local councils, land offices and other stakeholders to take more decisive action,” Bernama quoted him as saying in the Perak legislative assembly today.

He was responding to a claim by PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad that 30 farms had been approved in the Batang Padang and Muallim districts.

Idris also claimed that Perikatan Nasional’s field observations found many legal and illegal pig farms in Malay-majority areas.

Sivanesan said 30 pig farms had been permanently shut down following legal enforcement, disease outbreaks, and land ownership or usage issues, reducing the number from 115 at the end of 2022 to 85 currently.

He dismissed allegations of widespread illegal pig farming in the state, saying that all 85 operational farms are licensed by the Perak veterinary services department.