Sg Siput Land Office forcefully evicts farmers

Eviction of farmers in Padang Tembak is a setback for PSM who has tried to defend the interests of those farming government land.

KUALA LUMPUR: The plan by members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) to lobby state governments to initiate an amendment to the National Land Code has encountered a setback after officials from the Sg Siput Land Office forcefully evicted nine PSM-represented farmers from government land in Padang Tembak, Sungai Siput, Perak.

Personnel from the Sg Siput Land Office cleared away all structures at the chilli and papaya farms including cattle barns belonging to seven crop farmers and two cattle farmers.

“During the scuffle to clear the land, comrade Nagen from PSM was detained briefly when he tried to stop the eviction,” read a statement by PSM today.

The eviction followed previous reports that PSM lawmaker Michael Jeyakumar planned to lobby state governments to initiate amendments to the National Land Code that would require the setting-up of a special committee to look out for the interests of small farmers on government land.

It was also reported previously in 2015 that the nine farmers represented by PSM had been served a notice in April 2015 to vacate the land within two weeks or face a RM10,000 fine or jail sentence of one year.

“We filed an application for judicial review at the Taiping High Court in July 2015 asking the Court to order the Sg Siput Land Office to give us at least a one-year notice as well as assistance in finding an alternative site for farming and animal husbandry,” said PSM.

On April 13 this year, the Taiping High Court rejected PSM’s request.

PSM’s lawyers plan to take this matter to the Appeals Court, and will be putting in an application for a stay on the April 2015 eviction notice until the Appeals Court makes a decision.