THE Pahang government must explain its decision not to lease its land in Raub to local durian growers who have been farming there for decades, DAP lawmaker Chow Yu Hui said. 

The Raub MP also questioned why the state government had instead opted to award the lease to Royal Pahang Durian Resources (RPDR), a private corporation. 

“What we want to ask is that if the state government has decided to lease this land, why not lease it to local farmers,” Chow said at a press conference in Raub today.  

“There are already a number of farmers who have been established here for decades, probably since the 1960s.  

“If it is possible to lease, why not lease to the local farmers who are in Sungai Ruan, Sungai Chalit, or Sungai Klau? 

“Why give it to the RPDR? This is a big corporation; they are not even Raub people,” the Save Musang King Alliance advisor added.  

Chow, who has championed the issue since his time as Tras assemblyman in 2020, said that the state government was not being challenged on the ownership of the land.  

“We are not challenging the state government’s policy that all land belongs to the state government or forestry.  

“The local farmers have been here for decades, but they are called illegal farmers now.  

“They are the ones who have made Musang King famous, even in international markets. Their contribution is enormous,” he said.  

In 2020, the state government’s development arm known as Pahang State Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPP) signed two agreements with conglomerate RPDR, allowing its entry into large-scale durian production that also empowered it to engage legally with the farmers in Raub.   

The state government awarded RPDR the lease and land use rights for 2,168 ha in the district of Raub for a period of 30 plus 30 years. 

Last week, Chow called on Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail to consider reviewing the land lease policy for the durian farm legalisation scheme in Raub before asking farmers to reconsider the judicial review.  

Chow’s comments came after Wan Rosdy had advised farmers to reconsider their application to file for a judicial review against an eviction notice at the Kuantan High Court three years ago.  

Chow said the farmers have been working on abandoned land since the 1960s and asserted that they had been applying for permits ever since.     

He alleged that the state government also knew about the farmers’ existence and never took action.   

Meanwhile, Tras assemblyman Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji called for an end to the dispute by urging the state government to have a round table discussion with the farmers.  

He said that the two parties must discuss and come to a resolution, rather than allow a third party to handle negotiations.  

“Let the menteri besar or the exco or even the state government go down and meet the people who are involved and affected, and have a discussion,” he added.  

Tengku Zulpuri believes that the unity government must be able to resolve issues concerning the plight of the rakyat.  

“In the end, all we want is for the state government to benefit.  

“I’m sure all the farmers want to pay the taxes too and through that the government will get income and benefit.  

“In order for that to happen, residents, farmers, or durian entrepreneurs must get profit in return.  

“What we don’t want is for the farmers to put in all their hard work but then someone else takes that and determines the prices for it,” he said.  

Tengku Zulpuri said that all forms of cartels involving the durian business must end.  

“We don’t want to have a monopoly over the durian business here. We don’t want cartels.  

“Have an open business system but it must follow the law,” he said.  

In August 2020, some 200 durian planters in Raub filed to obtain permission for a judicial review at the Kuantan High Court against a Pahang government order for them to vacate their farms.   

They filed the application by naming the following respondents: the Raub District Land Administrator, Pahang Forestry director, state authorities, PKPP, and RPDR.   

In December 2020, the Kuantan High Court dismissed the farmers’ leave applications, ruling that they had no locus standi to file the legal action.     

On September 9, 2021, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by the group of farmers against the Kuantan High Court’s dismissal of their leave applications for a judicial review. – February 2, 2023.