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Sunday, June 24, 2018

Part 1 : Undoing BN's Incompetence - Cameron Highlands

Hi folks. Been on a foodie road trip again. Here is beautiful Penang again.  Penang is looking better than ever. More prosperous than ever. 





Of course you cannot do Penang without nasi kandar.  There is plenty of choice in Penang. I think the choices are increasing. But the mamak guys are putting sugar in the food, including in the rice. Kelantan style. That is such a sacrilege. 


We drove down to the Camerons. It has been raining in the Camerons for three days. The temperature is 16% at 5pm. It will go down another two or three points tonite.

There is massive development going on in the Cemrons. You can see the picture. There are also massive wrong things going on. Do read on.





Poor land management policies are causing chaos, anxiety and impoverishing us all.  Do read on.

Before I forget, I would like to share some thoughts on the following issues. They are important.  Not today but over the next few posts.

1.  Monopolies : Bernas, TNB, Metrod, Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, Matang Mangrove Sanctuary etc.

Agri Minister Salahuddin Ayob has backtracked on Bernas.  A few days it came out that Bernas' monopoly has been abolished. Now Salahuddin says we have to wait until their concession ends in 2021. That is totally ridiculous.  I would like to touch on this further.

2. Tabung Harapan, Rakyat Bonds, Goldman Sachs bonds.

3.  Getting rid of the incompetents, leftovers from the BN including VCs, CEOs, Chairmen of GLCs, Economic Advisors etc. 

4.  Dewan Berasuah Kuala Lumpur or DBKL.

Since Camerons is just  outside  the window right now here are some thoughts about vegetable farming.  

Camerons is in Pahang, one of two States still ruled by UMNO (the Gerakan has left BN today, Sarawak has ditched BN, so there is no more BN left.)

There is plenty of land in the Camerons. Also on the Perak side of the highlands and into Kelantan. In Pahang the UMNO ketuanan fellows only grant one year TOL (Temporary Occupation License) for the farmers to open the hills for farming (vegetables and flowers).  The farmers are largely Chinese with some Indians.

This is the main problem. The farmers have no certainty of tenure on the land to do their farming. Farming is a business. Its all ringgit and sen.

To their credit  the Camerons farmers have done wonders largely by themselves opening up this area for farming. Not only do they feed the nation (and Singapore) but the exports from here have also put our name on the world market. 

This is very economically useful real estate.  Please bear this in mind. 

But without certainty of land tenure the farmers cannot plan for the long term.  Since they do not know if the TOL will be renewed (by the State) they must make sure they get the highest return for their money in the quickest time.

Most vegetables grow and can be harvested in weeks. The payback period is very quick.  To ensure a maximum yield (to cover their costs and because the TOL is only for one year) the farmers use extra pesticides and are aggressive with chemical fertilisers. 

This is why Camerons vegetables get rejected (sometimes) in Singapore and other places.

Also when it rains the chemical fertilisers and pesticides are washed into the drains, rivers and the ecosystem. These are actually the "Chemical Higlands".

All these problems can be solved if the State gomen can give the farmers longer lease terms on the land.  How many years? 99 years? 60 years? 30 years? No need.

The farming wizards and financial smarties who spoke to me about this say just FIVE years is enough. Because these are vegetables and flowers. The payback period is quite fast.  My suggestion is 10 year land leases will be sufficient.

The farmers will be able to invest more in green houses, vertical farming, more advanced drip irrigation (that saves water) and optimal application of fertiliser.  Then they may not need to use as much pesticides and fast growth chemical fertilisers.

Our vegetables will not be rejected in Singapore and Hong Kong. Our rivers and hills will not be polluted with chemical pesticides.

This is actually quite simple common sense. Tolonglah lah manusia.    

Here is a little more advanced thinking.  The highland States (Pahang, Perak, Kelantan) should spend money to open up more farming land.  

Do the land clearing in an organised, scientific and proper manner.  
Terrace the hills properly (not haphazard like now), cut the roads and tar them, harvest water sources and pipe the water for irrigation, lay out vegetable lots in nice square shapes and sizes. 
Then lease out these vegetable and flower growing plots to the farmers at standard cukai tanah rates and cukai pintu rates combined (to pay for the infra works).

In the United States, even the small town with one pumpkin farm will organise the largest 'Pumpkin Festival' in the world. They really know how to talk big.

Cameron Highlands has pumpkins, flowers, vegetables, fruits, strawberries, etc. Yet no one organises even one Cameron Highlands International Vegetables and Flowers Festival at all. What is wrong with you guys? 

Ini harta negara lah. Part of our national wealth.  We must promote it, support it and invest in it.

This is how we grow our economy. When the economy grows everyone grows along with it.

Now in Cameron Highlands there are numerous business operated by people of all races. Makanan Islam restaurants are found everywhere. Malay folks are big time into vegetable and flower trading.  The whole country grows.

Jangan nak tengok agama, bangsa dan bahasa saja brader.  That is so Jurassic Park. Plus it makes you poor.

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