Perak human resources, health, indian community affairs and national integration committee chairman A Sivanesan said construction of the farm pens at Jalan RE began without proper approval, Berita Harian reported.

“The local authority will investigate and inform us, as I am responsible for restructuring pig farms in Perak,” Sivanesan was quoted as saying.

“Not just pig farms, but any development without planning permission is in violation of the law.”

Sungai Siput Umno Youth chief Ariff Zaky Zolkafly was reported as saying the developer had been issued a stop-work notice and slapped with a compound notice for RM25,000 by the Kuala Kangsar municipal council and the district land office.

He claimed that preliminary site work had been going on for three months.

Sivanesan said compounds were necessary to prevent illegal construction from becoming “normalised”.

“A compound is necessary to teach a lesson so that rules are not broken. Don’t wait until structures are up before submitting an application,” he said.

He also said centralised pig farming was not necessary in Perak because of the risk of disease spreading among livestock.