THEORETICALLY speaking, the Malaysian government is committed to increasing agriculture productivity to meet local and international demands. For instance, our National Agro-food Policy (2011-2020) sets many strategies to achieve the abovementioned purpose, including to increase fruit production such as durians, pineapples and bananas in line with the increasing demand for fruits.

Things might look good on paper, but the reality on the ground is far from being realised by the government. Instead, some bizarre and brutal actions taken by the government are paradoxical to what it pledges. 

Just recently, the Pahang state government, by claiming that it intended to uphold the noble cause of “environment protection”, launched an enforcement operation against some durian farms in Raub.

The Pahang Forestry Department boasted its own trumpet by announcing that some 15,000 trees were chopped down in merely nine days, notwithstanding that a flash flood happened in some areas in Raub right after the enforcement was carried out.

A responsible govt should work with farmers, not destroy farms

Studies show that many agricultural activities would cause pollution or environmental degradation to a certain extent. As such, researchers and academics would usually propose establishing stronger collaboration between the government and the farmers in order to minimise the problem while ensuring the sustainability of agriculture.

A responsible, caring and far-sighted government should educate the farmers about ways to preserve the environment and provide training and technical assistance to minimise the ensuing problems caused by farming. It should also actively collaborate with the local farmers to come up with strategic plans to move towards sustainable agriculture.

Destroying farms that had been cultivated by small farmers for 10 to 20 years, on the other hand, was simply mind-boggling and terrifying. 

Double standards for oil palms and durians

In contrast to durians, certain crops such as oil palms seemingly enjoy preferential treatment from the Malaysian government.

To visualise the difference between the two crops, the size of oil palm plantations in Malaysia almost keeps increasing every year. The total size of land use for palm oil production stands at 5.24 million ha in 2018. After receiving complaints from the civil society organisations and the international community, such as the European Union (EU), the Primary Industries Ministry then announced that the plantation areas will be capped at about 6.5 million ha by 2023.

When the EU claimed that oil palm plantations in Malaysia are responsible for deforestation and endangering biodiversity, did our government resort to destroying all oil palm plantations in the name of environmental preservation, just like how the Pahang government treated durian farms recently?

Certainly not. In fact, a sensible government will consult the experts and engage with civil society organisations and other stakeholders, including large-scale and small-scale owners of oil palm plantation, to come up with a comprehensive and sustainable plan to protect the environment on the one hand, while continuing to produce high-quality palm oil on the other hand.

With that, the government can fulfil its obligations to protect the environment while continuing to improve the people’s livelihood via the primary industry or agriculture.

However, why did the Pahang government practice double standards when it comes to other types of crops, such as durians? Why didn’t the government resort to raising awareness among farmers and provide technical assistance to minimise the environmental impact?

All crops are equal, but oil palms are more equal than other crops such as durians.

Farmers vilified by propaganda machines

The Pahang government accuses the small-scale durian farmers of polluting the environment but has never shown any evidence, such as environmental data to substantiate its allegations.

Ironically, it is the same state government that is always mired in controversy due to its abysmal track record on the environment. Among all, the mining activities in the Tasik Chini area and rare-earth mining in the Jelai forest shocked the nation once the news was exposed.

As small farmers are utterly powerless compared to the state government, the state propaganda machines often vilify the small farmers, labelling them as “eco-terrorists”. Due to the unequal status, the small farmers could hardly rebut the accusations, some of which were merely hearsay that was not supported by facts and figures.

Profiting at the expense of small farmers

The stark contrast in the treatments received by the two types of crops boils down to the mentality embraced by the politicians at the helm of the country and the government agencies: Enriching government-linked companies and large corporations whenever the market for a certain type of good is profitable while ignoring the small-scale farmers.

In Raub, it was reported that the Pahang government granted 1,213 ha of forest land, near the area where durian trees were recently chopped down, to a well-connected consortium called Royal Pahang Durian Resources-PKPP. It was also said that the area granted to the consortium was actually a water catchment area and a habitat for tigers.

Besides, Royal Pahang Durian offered to “legalise” the other farms of durian farmers in Raub by requiring them to sign an unequal contract, thus essentially making them as “modern-day slaves”.

Why did the state government easily grant a large swathe of land to the consortium, that has no proven track record in durian farming or processing? Why did the government give the consortium the right to reap benefits from farmers who have been cultivating their farms for decades?

Unfortunately, the government doesn’t seem to be proud of the significant achievements of the small durian farmers, who have already established Musang King durians as a renowned international brand all on their own.

After Musang King durians became the geese that lay the golden eggs, the Pahang government, mesmerised by the potential short-term profit, intended to forcefully reap the fruits of the farmers. Sadly, it is not interested in assisting local farmers to improve their yields while protecting the environment in order to achieve more breakthroughs in both the domestic and the international market.

Small farmers spend years cultivating their crops, yet the government can, as it sees fit, seize the fruits of farmers’ labour. If this is the message that the government intends to deliver, the agricultural sector’s future is bleak. – July 15, 2021.

* Ho Chi Yang reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.