IPOH, Oct 2 — Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) chief executive officer Mohd Ariff Yeop Ishak said Permaculture Farmstay has been evicted from its site in Lenggong as it failed to make timely rent payments.
He also pointed out that the farm owner had agreed to vacate the land on or before August 1, 2018 following a consent order dated October 13, 2016 after a protracted legal battle, for which he said the company had legal representation.
“PKNP entered into a tenancy agreement on November 6, 2008 with Knowledge Value Consultancy Sdn. Bhd, with Vladislav Kuta being one of the directors in the company, for the purpose of an integrated farming and eco resort, doing bio-technology projects with proper waste treatment system.
“The company has defaulted on rental payments which resulted in PKNP commencing court action in August 2015, inter alia claiming vacant possession of the land,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Ariff said the company failed to abide by the court order. He also said PKNP has never indicated that it would deviate from this or grant the firm any extension.
“The failure of the company to comply with the consent order has forced PKNP to commence this eviction proceeding,” he said.
Yesterday, Malay Mail reported that the jungle retreat/farmstay that has hosted over 1,000 tourists — both international and domestic — was closed after being evicted by PKNP.
The farm, which was once featured in a National Geographic TV series, was operated by Amy Tan, 40, and her husband Vladislav Kuta, 46.
Tan, a former accountant, explained that they did not pay the rent in 2011 as there was a squatter issue and claimed that there was no action taken by the owner despite complaints lodged.
“Why do we need to pay the rent when someone else is occupying our land?” she asked.
“However, after we received the eviction notice, we resumed our rental payments, including arrears, but they were returned multiple times,” she added.
Tan said that the eviction notice was first served on them in 2011 after PKNP approved 80.93 hectares of neighbouring land to a timber company for a eucalyptus plantation.
She also said that the vast land clearing by the timber company had an adverse effect on the wildlife habitat and quality of river water, and increased the risk of landslides in the area.
Tan also said the timber company cleared about 4.05 hectares out of 15.57 hectares of their land, on which crops like limes, sorghum, coconuts, pomelos and pumpkins were planted, causing them to suffer losses of about RM100,000.
She said that they have attempted to meet the authorities and state government to discuss the land issue, but added no one responded to them.
