AYER KUNING: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has called for the establishment of an independent body to oversee the alienation of agricultural land in Perak.
Noting that many farmers in the state were facing eviction, KS Bawani, PSM’s candidate for the Ayer Kuning state seat, said the party’s lawyers were handling up to 30 court cases of farmers who had been evicted.
“There needs to be a committee to consult with the farmers who were cultivating the land prior to any alienation,” said Bawani.
“Our country’s law states that the land title holder is the owner of the land. But the problem is that we don’t know the proper procedure before a piece of land is alienated,” she said at a press conference here.
She said that PSM had four demands for the government regarding the land alienation issue in Perak. They are that:
Areas used for food production should be maintained and not alienated to any party for development purposes.
Land still being cultivated, but which had been alienated to developers, should be returned to the farmers cultivating the land.
An independent committee should be set up, to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on land intended for alienation which farmers have been cultivating.
Land laws must be amended to create a check and balance that ensures that government land assets are not liquidated and sold solely for the purpose of profit.
