THE Nipah outbreak of 1998 continues to devastate Bukit Pelandok, which once had a thriving pig-rearing industry. 

That industry collapsed after the virus killed more than 100 people, which led to the government barring farmers from raising pigs.

Local residents still speak of those good old days when pig rearing drove the local economy. From the feeding to the slaughtering and processing to the transporting, the pork industry threaded its way through the town in Negri Sembilan.  

Locals told The Malaysian Insight that before the outbreak, people from all walks of life could be seen moving in and out of town because a lot of business was done here.

But after the outbreak, and the subsequent ban, pig farmers switched to growing vegetables and oil palm, which they were less accustomed to.

Bukit Pelandok today appears to be an ordinary, small town. As the years pass, outsiders are less likely to know about its past, and few stop long enough to find out.

Townsfolk are now looking to Anwar Ibrahim, a candidate for the Port Dickson parliamentary seat to turn this town into the bustling economy it once was.

Anwar, who is facing six other candidates in the by-election this Saturday, is also the prime minister-in-waiting and the locals believe that if anyone can change their fortunes, he can.

Pig farmers who used to raise pigs on a large scale had hoped to convert their land for other uses. But their land was abandoned for nearly two decades with the younger generation not interested in tending to them. 

Former pig-rearer Gan Teng Peng hopes that these big bosses who used to raise pigs would now develop the area and turn it into an industrial hub.

“We have repeatedly proposed to the previous government for the land to be developed but no one listened.

“Our hope is now on Port Dickson candidate and PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim,” Gan said.

Gan said if the state government would not allow pigs to be reared, it should assist former pig farmers to join other industries. 

“Everyone doesn’t have to raise pigs, they just want to be able to make good use of the land to find some income,” he said.

Another resident of Bukit Pelandok, Yek Diew Ching, said there were ways to manage pig farming in the region.

He suggested the landowners form a committee and invite the relevant state officers, environmentalists and community leaders to join it..

Yek said if such a committee were formed and a proposal was drawn up,  the new state government wouldl not ignore their suggestions.

Another Bukit Pelandok resident, Voon Jou Long, said that after the outbreak, the government did not introduce new impetus for growth of other industries such as agriculture and light and heavy industries.

He said the people of the town could never hope to enjoy again the incomes of the pig-farming days.

A former pig farmer who wished to be known as  Lim hoped Anwar would also help other small towns nearby to benefit from Port Dickson’s tourism trade.

Compared with Port Dickson, which attracted many tourists, Lim said Bukit Pelandok was a dead town that could not offer employment opportunities to the younger generation who thus had to leave home for jobs elsewhere.

He said development in Bukit Pelandok had stagnated after the Nipah virus outbreak, causing the younger generation to look for jobs in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Singapore and other places.

When asked about the issue, Anwar told reporters he would study the matter, but he hoped that the pig farmers would come up suggestions on how to develop Bukit Pelandok. – October 8, 2018.