Kalam Salan (PN-Sabak Bernam) said pig farming in Malaysia is likely to face opposition from local residents, regardless of where it is located.

Citing Singapore as an example, the Bersatu MP said the city-state chose the “safer” approach by importing pork rather than rearing pigs domestically.

“If it’s located in Kuala Langat or Bukit Pelanduk, there will be objections. If it’s moved to Benut, there will still be objections. If it’s located in a Chinese New Village, there will surely be objections as well.

“So there’s no need to rear pigs, just import pork. In Singapore, more people consume pork but they don’t rear pigs, and that is safer,” he said while debating the king’s speech in the Dewan Rakyat.

Last week, the Selangor government cancelled its plan to centralise the state’s pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, after being rebuked by the Selangor sultan and advised by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Menteri besar Amirudin Shari said backlash against the proposal was rather premature as the Bukit Tagar plan had not been formally submitted yet.

He said that, moving forward, the state government would not announce any potential alternative location until a decision was made.

Separately, Kalam said the main bone of contention was not the pigs themselves but poorly-managed farms that caused pollution.

He also addressed public criticism of pork in general, maintaining that, as a Muslim, he respected Malaysia’s cultural and religious diversity.

“I have an orchard. Even when 15 to 20 wild boars come in, they don’t stink up the place,” he said, adding that how the farm is maintained is important.

“As a Malaysian, I, too, may feel like eating pork, monitor lizards or snakes, but my religion forbids it, so I don’t eat them. But my religion has never taught me to insult others who consume these animals.”