IPOH, Oct 24 — Socialist Party of Malaysia secretary-general A. Sivarajan said one its activists were injured while four others including party chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar were arrested while protesting the eviction of farmers from their land in Kanthan, Tambun.
Sivarajan said Chong Yee Shan suffered a broken tooth and injured her nose after she was allegedly shoved by an official from the Perak Land and Mines Office (PTG).
Based on a video shared in PSM’s WhatsApp group, a commotion broke out when the farmers and activists present at the area attempted to block the PTG personnel and their vehicles.
Sivarajan said that PSM activists Karthiges Manickam, 42; Ho Pon Tien, 53; and Kesavan Parvathy, 30, were also arrested in the incident.
He claimed that the PTG officers were attempting to evict the farmers, who have been occupying the land for decades, despite their pending application for the land and ongoing discussion over the matter.
“Why evict the productive farmers when they have applied for the land and waited patiently to comply with the state government for alternative land offer?
“It was the state government who failed to relocate them (farmers). Where is the state government’s commitment to food security?” he said in a statement.
Sivarajan said Dr Jeyakumar has already brought the issue to the attention of state and federal authorities, but this did not stop the eviction process.
He went on to condemn the “highhanded action” today.
Sivarajan said there were about 200 farmers in Kanthan growing various crops and serving the local market.
“Since 2012, these farmers were promised lease agreements by the Perak State Development Board at an alternative location named Perak Hi-Tech Park.
“They were offered a replacement land of two acres to be leased for a period of 30 years. But the Perak Government failed to fulfil this promise and have now resorted to forcefully evict the farmers using Section 425 of the National Land Code,” he said.
Sivarajan said that PSM demanded the immediate release of four arrested and urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene as the farmers are from his parliamentary constituency.
