Following the row between smallholder farmers in Kanthan, Perak, and the Perak Land and Mines Office enforcement officers, numerous activist groups have condemned the violent treatment of PSM activist Chong Yee Shan.
They also called for an end to the eviction of farmers and demolition of their farmlands.
Yesterday, an enforcement officer is alleged to have pushed Chong and inflicted injuries on her while three other PSM activists including chairperson Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, Karthiges Manickam, and Kesavan Parvathy, as well as farmer Ho Pon Tien, were briefly arrested.
"This act of violence against a woman, a civil society activist, a Malaysian citizen is unacceptable, more so when done by a man, a government officer, and one without the right or authority to use force to carry out his duties.
"Acts of violence, especially when perpetrated by men against women, are abhorrent and go against the rights of women to participate freely and fully in civil society action.
"This not only constitutes an abuse of power but also an illegal use of force on the part of the officer," said the Climate Emergency Coalition of Malaysia (GDIMY), which is a coalition of NGOs and individuals working to make Malaysia a climate-resilient country.
"At a time, when the government has issued an unequivocal condemnation against violence on women and children of Gaza, this abhorrent act by the officer makes the Madani government a hypocrite if stern administrative and criminal action is not taken against him," the group said in a statement.
The statement was co-signed by the Kuala Lumpur Residents Action Plus for Sustainable Development, Alliance of River Three, Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia (FKMM), Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazakh Alam, Aliran Malaysia, Greenpeace Malaysia and Sharifah Sofia.
"We also stand in solidarity with the farmers in Kanthan defending their land from forced eviction, which they have been cultivating for decades.
"In Budget 2024, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim allocated RM400 million for the Food Security Reinforcement Programme and billions for paddy subsidies and stipends for fisherfolk, which is a good initiative. He also encouraged small farmers to optimise land use through food and livestock production.
"Food security is a major problem in Malaysia and the people are bearing the brunt of drastically rising food prices. With the climate crisis happening, this problem is expected to intensify. So, why are the government’s actions contradicting its implementations?" asked the group.
Article 19 senior programme officer Nalini Elumalai also condemned the violence against Chong, saying such actions by government officials must not be tolerated.
"The authorities must investigate the incident promptly and impartially and the perpetrator must be held to account,” she added.
Meanwhile, Civicus Asia Pacific researcher Josef Benedict said that the arrest was purely to intimidate and create a chilling effect on those seeking to halt the forced eviction.
"The government must drop any investigations into their actions,” he said.
Questions have been asked about Anwar's silence on the matter as Kanthan is located within his parliamentary constituency of Tambun.
Malaysiakini has attempted to contact his team but has yet to receive a response.
FKMM coordinator Nurfitri Amir Muhammad reminded the government of its obligation to defend the rights of farmers in the ITPGRFA Agreement (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) which Malaysia is a member, one of which is the right to be involved in the process of discussion and decision-making.
"Also the UNDROP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas) declaration supported by Malaysia, one of which is protecting farmers from forced eviction," he said.
Human rights defenders in Malaysia, especially those working on land and environmental rights issues, face various challenges for undertaking their work, including judicial harassment from the state as well as non-state actors. - Mkini
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