The Selangor government will not give in to the 200-odd swiftlet farmers and bird's nest traders who protested outside the state government office this morning against new regulations to be imposed on the industry.
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim warned today the state would act if the farmers do not follow the Rearing of Swiftlet and Manufacturing of Swiftlets' Nest By-Laws 2013, including the order to move to the outskirts within three years.
The state would be left with no other choice but to shut down illegal swiftlet farms, Khlaid said, adding: "They can protest... but they will still be in the wrong.
"They are operating where they should not be. If they refuse to move, then are they willing to compensate their affected neighbours, so that their neighbours can move instead?"
Khalid told reporters in Shah Alam that the state decided to act following many complaints from residents and eateries in vicinities where many such swiftlet farms have been unsuitably located.
He also brushed off protests of loss of livelihood and diving profits if the nest farmers were forced to move, saying the state's grace period of three years was ample time.
"If they can't be profitable after two years, they can't be profitable even if we give them 10 years... then they should just move away, or shut down."
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim warned today the state would act if the farmers do not follow the Rearing of Swiftlet and Manufacturing of Swiftlets' Nest By-Laws 2013, including the order to move to the outskirts within three years.The state would be left with no other choice but to shut down illegal swiftlet farms, Khlaid said, adding: "They can protest... but they will still be in the wrong.
"They are operating where they should not be. If they refuse to move, then are they willing to compensate their affected neighbours, so that their neighbours can move instead?"
Khalid told reporters in Shah Alam that the state decided to act following many complaints from residents and eateries in vicinities where many such swiftlet farms have been unsuitably located.
He also brushed off protests of loss of livelihood and diving profits if the nest farmers were forced to move, saying the state's grace period of three years was ample time.
"If they can't be profitable after two years, they can't be profitable even if we give them 10 years... then they should just move away, or shut down."
The swiftlet farmers and bird's nest traders outraged by the new regulation protested outside the state government building in Shah Alam this morning.
The angry crowd of some 200 from Selangor, Pahang and Penang displayed banners, shouted slogans and booed at the official car of senior Selangor executive councillor Teng Chang Khim as it passed by the State Secretariat building.
The protesters also stepped forward to make gestures at the vehicle. The demonstration started at 7am and ended two hours later.
"We don't want DAP! Long live BN and Umno," shouted a protester.
Teng, who is Selangor Local Government, Studies and Research Committee chairperson, had recently released the Rearing of Swiftlet and Manufacturing of Swiftlets' Nest By-Laws 2013.
The new regulation will also allow those operating swftlet nests in padi fields to be issued with a seven-year licence, which the operators also deem as "unfit".
The state government has reportedly ordered the operators to apply for licences before the end of this year, failing which illegal operators would be "accordingly" dealt with.
'A loss of RM500 million to industry in Selangor'
"The industry will dies under the new regulations, " Selangor Bird Merchants Association president Mah Swee Lye said.
"Currently, there are 6,000 shoplots used as operations centres for swiftlet bird's nests. Each premises will need at least RM500,000 to move to agriculture land.
"This will constitute to a total loss of RM300 million to the industry in Selangor," Mah said, and he called on Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to overturn the decision announced by Teng.
He said one bird's nest outlet operator had attempted suicide as a result of a ban on the export of the bird's nests to China.
Mah (right) believes that more of such operators would be forced to end their lives if their livelihoods were put at risk.
He said the new regulation added insult to injury because the operators still suffered from the ban on bird's nest imports by China as a result of the high level of sodium nitrate in it, which has caused the industry to lose hundreds of millions of ringgit.
If the government is adamant about its plans, the operators would organise a 5,000-strong crowd to start a nationwide petition signing against the resulations next month.
This was because of anxiety among the bird's nest farmers nationwide, who were concerned that the other states too would adopt the regulations introduced by Selangor, Mah said.
"We also plan to set up a legal foundation to help those who will be affected by the new regulations to take the Selangor goverment and local government councils to court," he added.
The angry crowd of some 200 from Selangor, Pahang and Penang displayed banners, shouted slogans and booed at the official car of senior Selangor executive councillor Teng Chang Khim as it passed by the State Secretariat building.
The protesters also stepped forward to make gestures at the vehicle. The demonstration started at 7am and ended two hours later."We don't want DAP! Long live BN and Umno," shouted a protester.
Teng, who is Selangor Local Government, Studies and Research Committee chairperson, had recently released the Rearing of Swiftlet and Manufacturing of Swiftlets' Nest By-Laws 2013.
The new regulation will also allow those operating swftlet nests in padi fields to be issued with a seven-year licence, which the operators also deem as "unfit".
The state government has reportedly ordered the operators to apply for licences before the end of this year, failing which illegal operators would be "accordingly" dealt with.
'A loss of RM500 million to industry in Selangor'
"The industry will dies under the new regulations, " Selangor Bird Merchants Association president Mah Swee Lye said.
"Currently, there are 6,000 shoplots used as operations centres for swiftlet bird's nests. Each premises will need at least RM500,000 to move to agriculture land.
"This will constitute to a total loss of RM300 million to the industry in Selangor," Mah said, and he called on Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to overturn the decision announced by Teng.
He said one bird's nest outlet operator had attempted suicide as a result of a ban on the export of the bird's nests to China.Mah (right) believes that more of such operators would be forced to end their lives if their livelihoods were put at risk.
He said the new regulation added insult to injury because the operators still suffered from the ban on bird's nest imports by China as a result of the high level of sodium nitrate in it, which has caused the industry to lose hundreds of millions of ringgit.
If the government is adamant about its plans, the operators would organise a 5,000-strong crowd to start a nationwide petition signing against the resulations next month.
This was because of anxiety among the bird's nest farmers nationwide, who were concerned that the other states too would adopt the regulations introduced by Selangor, Mah said.
"We also plan to set up a legal foundation to help those who will be affected by the new regulations to take the Selangor goverment and local government councils to court," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.