4 Men Arrested After Trying To Stop Land Office From Evicting Farmers In Perak

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According to New Straits Times, Ipoh police chief ACP Yahaya Hassan said the four men were detained for obstructing public servants from carrying out their duties at the Silver Valley Technology Park project site.

"At about 10am, an integrated operation under Section 425 of the National Land Code 1965 (for unlawful occupation of government land) was carried out at the site," he said in a statement yesterday.

"The operation was led by the Perak Land and Mines Office (PTG) and joined by other state government agencies, while policemen were there to maintain security throughout the operation," he added.

During the operation at 2.30pm, a group of farmers and members of PSM obstructed the officers from carrying out their duties, which led to the arrests under Section 186 of the Penal Code.

In a statement yesterday, PSM secretary-general Sivarajan Arumugam said party chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar, two party members – Karthiges Manickam and Kesavan Parvathy – and a farmer, Ho Pon Tien, were arrested for resisting the eviction and the demolition of the crops.

He claimed that one of the PTG officers had aggressively pushed a PSM member, Chong Yee Shan, causing her to fall down and break her teeth.

"In Kanthan area, there are nearly 200 farmers growing various food crops serving the local market and residents.

"Since 2012, these farmers were promised lease agreements by the Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) at an alternative location named Perak Hi-Tech Park. They were offered replacement land of two acres to be leased for a period of 30 years," he said.

Sivarajan claimed that the Perak government failed to fulfil its promise and decided to forcefully evict the farmers under Section 425 of the National Land Code.

"Why evict productive farmers, when they have applied for the land and waited patiently to comply with the state government's offer for alternative land?" he asked.

Yahaya added that the police also received a report from PTG against a woman for obstructing the office's vehicle during the operation. She will be investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code.

PSM has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene immediately, saying the plight of the farmers in Kanthan falls within his parliamentary constituency of Tambun in Perak.