DISMAYED by the eviction of illegal farmers from Cameron Highlands, Fuziah Salleh said the state government could have instead resorted to a “win-win negotiation.”

“The use of brute force by the state government against the vegetable farmers in Cameron Highlands is very much regretted. It should not have happened,” the Kuantan MP said in a Facebook post today.

She said the state government could have been more considerate by allowing them to harvest their crops first.

“This is a festive season, and their children will be starting school (soon), surely their harvest would be needed to fund their children’s schooling at the start of next year,” Fuziah said.

The government could then relocate them to the designated lots by way of negotiation, she said.

Yesterday, Pahang MIC leader V. Arumugam led a group of 11 MIC local councillors in the state to resign from their posts to show support for about 60 Indian farmers in Kuala Terla who was instructed by the Pahang government to vacate their farms without offering any alternative solutions.

Fuziah, who is also Pahang Pakatan Harapan chairman, said the state government should have identified plots that could be given to smallholders under long-term lease to enable them to invest in the necessary machinery and reap better harvests while also contributing to economic growth.

“They can also be trained to use modern technology and good agricultural practices. To avoid using prohibited pesticides and so on.

“The Pahang government should have used a win-win negotiation in this matter,” she added. – December 24, 2019.