Eight arrested for allegedly blocking eviction of Perak farmers

 

Two Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists and six farmers were arrested by the police after allegedly trying to prevent the eviction of farmers in Chepor Impian, Perak, today.

Agastim Mariasosai, 63 and Kesavan Vijayan, 29 were initially detained by police while trying to prevent the eviction of the eight farmers.

They were taken to the Ipoh Police Headquarters and a little later, two more activists Nagenteran Sandrsigran and Kavitha Munisamy were detained along with four farmers Liew Kook Soon, Liew Yu Lim, Liew Yu Ming, and Liew Yu Tsong.

When contacted, National PSM Chairperson Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj confirmed the detentions.

"We PSM members along with eight farmers today tried to prevent the forced eviction because the private sector that claimed the right to the land did not have a court order," he claimed.

"When we tried to tell them that these farmers could not be evicted without a court order, the police told us that there was no need for a court order as the land was gazetted to the private party.

"Police arrested activists and the agricultural land is being destroyed," he said.

According to him, the land cultivated by these small farmers was originally government land before being sold to the private sector.

Farmers in the Chepor Impian area have been cultivating there for over 40 years.

"Agricultural activities are their main source of income. These farmers produce crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, vegetables, and various other cash crops that are marketed to the local market.

“All these small farmers spend most of their time in the orchards every day for the production of vegetables that are the food of the local community.

"The Perak state government should prioritise the interests of small farmers because they contribute to food security for the people," he said. - Mkini