THE Pahang government never intended to oppress the musang king durian farmers who cultivate the crop illegally around Raub district, said Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

On the other hand, Wan Rosdy said that the action taken by the state government was based on provisions allowed under the law.

“The farmers involved should also be law-abiding citizens, by vacating government land that they have occupied illegally all this while. The state government hopes to get cooperation from the parties involved.”

“The state government has also reiterated its stance that it will not compromise on the issue of land cultivated illegally by the farmers involved,” he said in a media statement today.

Wan Rosdy said that the state government had to temporarily postpone the enforcement action of the eviction notice against the farmers involved until the application of 111 gardeners to obtain judicial review of the notice, to be decided by the high court here on October 28.

On August 28, Kuantan high court judge Zainal Azman Ab Aziz allowed the farmers’ application to obtain a temporary suspension order against the eviction notice issued by the Raub district and land office and the Pahang forestry department.

The application was made after the state government began taking action against farmers who allegedly cultivated durian plantations around Raub illegally in early August, as the plantations had allegedly caused losses to the state government as well as water pollution issues. – Bernama, September 1, 2020.