KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs: April 24, 2008 By Anis Ibrahim and Neville Spykerman
The Selangor Government is free to set up the proposed modern pig farming project. Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said while the federal government imposed general policies, state governments could set their own guidelines.
“The federal government has already imposed general policies on pig farming in 1991. Negeri Sembilan, Sabah and Sarawak agreed to carry out these policies although they haven’t been implemented,” he said.
“In Selangor’s case, they have proposed to introduce modern pig farming, intended to fulfil environmental safety standards, for example,” he said, adding they were entitled to do so.
“We (the federal government) merely impose general policies. When it comes to location and other similar matters, each state can draw up its own rules,” he told a Press conference after performing the soft launch of the Malaysian Agricultural, Horticultural and Agro-Tourism Exhibition (MAHA 2008).
In SHAH ALAM, Selangor opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said it was the job of the new administration to go to the ground and explain the merits of the move to have a modern pig farm in Ladang Tumbuk, Tanjung Sepat, instead of blaming the project on the previous administration.
The former Menteri Besar said the previous administration embarked on preliminary findings for the project to solve the pollution problem related to big farming.
No concrete deal was signed nor was any particular company or technology chosen, he said.
“We were going to have a public hearing. If people were against it we would have found an alternative site.”
He conceded that having a modern pig farm project was better than the status quo, as most pig farms in Selangor were already in the area.
“I’m ok with the project but then, I don’t stay there.”
He said the opposition was never against the establishment of a modern pig farm in the area but was against its size and the number of pigs to be bred.
He said there were 400,000 pigs being bred in the area but the number should be cap at 250,000, for local consumption.
He said that if the state government refused to hold a public hearing then Tanjung Sepat assemblyman Datuk Dr Karim Mansor would do so
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