Perak farmers' group plan march to Parliament

A group of farmers from Perak will be marching to Parliament on Tuesday (Sept 12), when the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) will be reviewed, to seek support from the Federal Government to save the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers facing eviction.

The march is also being held to halt the destruction of food-producing land.

In a statement on Friday (Sept 8), Undi 18 co-founder Tharma Pillai said the farmers represent an estimated 200 to 300 farmer families in Perak, many of whom have been producing food for the nation since colonial times but were never able to secure land titles or leases.

“Most of the land has now been sold to private entities for development, leading to their potential eviction.

“The aim of the march is to hand over a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

“Malaysia is already on the brink of a food crisis and yet there are food-producing communities all over the country such as the fishermen in Penang and Pangkor as well as farmers in Perak who are facing land issues,” Tharma said.

He added that although the government sees food security and cost of living as a priority for 12MP, if hundreds of farmers and fishermen lose their land, things will only get worse.

He said they would meet at Taman Tugu Negara at 9am on Sept 12 before marching to the Parliament building.