Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Malacca State Assembly: 'Factories polluting Sg Melaka'
By : Cynthia Lee

WASTE discharged from factories in the Ayer Keroh Industrial Zone has polluted Sungai Melaka.

The river has been classified as intermediately polluted.

"Cadmium, copper, metal, lead, nickel, zinc and chromium were discovered in water samples," said state Industrial, Trade, Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development chairman Datuk Ahmad Hamzah.

He was replying to Goh Leong San (DAP-Bandar Hilir) who wanted to know whether factories in the industrial zone had caused pollution and the list of errant factories.

Ahmad said the factories had contributed to water and air pollution.

The state government, he told the house, had issued 32 warning letters, 14 compound notices, four other notices and two court orders against the polluters.

But he did not name the factories as demanded by Goh.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said pig farmers in Paya Mengkuang and Kuala Sungai Baru had been advised to scale down their operations which contributed to the pollution.

He said the state government could order the closure of the farms as they were illegal but chose not to as the farmers had been operating for more than 50 years.

"If possible, I want the farmers to think about the discomfort faced by nearby villagers," he said in his adjourning speech.

Ali said pig farming was no longer suitable for a developing state like Malacca.

"There used to be pig farms in Bukit Katil but because of rapid development in the area, farmers took on other jobs."

Ali said the state government wanted the number of pigs reared in the two areas to be reduced from 150,000 to 48,000.

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Currently, the Melaka State Goverment want to close down all the pig farms located other than in Paya Mengkuang. They also order the pig farmers to reduce the pigs population from 140000 to 40000 heads. What a sad news for our pig industry. :cry:

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

What a sad things that the English newspaper never/ rarely publish the news happen in Melaka recently. That's really a sad thing in our media press. Fully controlled....

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Wednesday September 5, 2007

Breeders to cut number of pigs to reduce pollution

MALACCA: Pig breeders here have agreed to reduce the number of pigs reared in the state to 48,000 by Sept 21 to cut down pollution in rivers near the farms, Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Abu Seman Yusop said.

This was agreed on during a meeting chaired in the Masjid Tanah Umno District Office yesterday which was attended by Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee; State Housing, Local Government, Environment and Transport Committee chairman Koh Nai Kwong; Information, Multimedia, Science and Technology Committee chairman Datuk Seah Kwi Tong, Human Resource Minister and Alor Gajah MP Datuk Seri Fong Chan Onn and Rural and Agriculture Development Committee chairman Datuk Hamdin Abdollah.

The four areas in the state involved in pig rearing are Paya Mengkuang, Manlok, Bukit Beruang and Air Molek. There are an estimated 148,000 pigs in these farms and there have been many complaints about the stench, the unhygienic conditions and the pollution of nearby rivers.

“Only Paya Mengkuang will be allowed to continue its pig farming activities. The other places should no longer be operational after Sept 21,” said Abu Seman.

Yesterday morning, personnel from the Federal Reserve Unit, police, Public Works Department, Malacca City council and Alor Gajah Municipal Council had gone to the four pig-rearing areas to cull the pigs.

Malacca police chief SAC 1 Datuk Mortadza Nazarene said holes were dug in Bukit Beruang and Manlok, but none were shot.

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Wednesday September 5, 2007

Pig farmers to sell 2,000 pigs daily to cut population

By SIM LEOI LEOI

PUTRAJAYA: Pig farmers in Malacca have reached a settlement with local authorities to start selling 2,000 animals each day to reduce its population from over 100,000 to 48,000 by Sept 21.

The pig breeders had been told to reduce the number of animals to cut down pollution in rivers near the farms.

The four areas in the state involved in pig rearing are Paya Mengkuang, Manlok, Bukit Beruang and Air Molek. There are an estimated 148,000 pigs in these farms.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said there was no truth to a news report that thousands of these animals had been culled on Tuesday.

"I have been briefed by our wing in Malacca that no culling actually takes place. We don't agree to the method of culling these animals as this means a loss of resources to the country.

"The MCA state leadership is handling the situation and we have managed to stop the culling in an agreement late in the afternoon. The authorities had gone on ahead with the necessary steps to cull the animals but the plan did not go ahead.

"The solution is to either start selling these animals or relocate them to other settlements elsewhere," he told reporters after announcing the winner of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Creative Young Entrepreneurs Award at his office here Wednesday.

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

ALOR GAJAH: Pig farmers are facing problems downsizing their farms due to a lack of demand for pork.

The farmers have been told to remove more than 97,000 pigs from their farms by next Friday but they claimed that they were having difficulties meeting the deadline.

"Common complaints include the difficulty for veterinarians from other states to obtain a permit to access the farms, the closure of the slaughter house in Ayer Keroh on Saturdays and the lack of demand for pork," said Masjid Tanah Member of Parliament Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, who is heading a special committee set up to monitor the progress of the pig elimination exercise.

The committee is tasked with ensuring that the number of pigs on the farms are reduced to 48,000 and farms in Bukit Beruang and Man Lok are shut down.

Abu Seman said the committee would find ways to solve the difficulties faced by the farmers.

Pig farmers have been given two days from yesterday to submit their elimination schedules.

Abu Seman said a meeting had been held with farmers in Bukit Beruang, Man Lok and Paya Mengkuang on the matter.

"We have explained to them what needs to be done and we have given them a sample of the schedule," he said after attending a meeting at the Masjid Tanah Umno liaison office here.

On compensation for the farmers, Abu Seman said they should not take advantage of the situation by demanding compensation.

"It’s not written anywhere that compensation would be given and the state government has been tolerating the issue since 2003," he said.

A total of 8,877 pigs have been taken out of the farms since last week with another 2,500 being removed from the farms daily.

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

ALOR GAJAH: The state government will do whatever it takes to ensure the deadline to downsize pig farms is met.

If necessary, it will order the slaughterhouse in Ayer Keroh to operate round the clock.

Up to Friday, 17,882 pigs had been removed from the farms in Paya Mengkuang, Bukit Beruang and Man Lok.

"Farmers still need to get rid of 79,119 pigs by next Friday," said Masjid Tanah Member of Parliament Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop after a meeting with Masjid Tanah MCA division officials yesterday.

Abu Seman is heading a special committee set up to monitor the exercise.

The committee is tasked with ensuring that the number of pigs on the farms are reduced to 48,000 and farms in Bukit Beruang and Man Lok are shut down.

Abu Seman said that farmers who had difficulty meeting the deadline as a result of the closure of the slaughterhouse in Ayer Keroh on Saturday, could apply for a special slaughtering permit from the state veterinary department.

"We can instruct the slaughterhouse to operate 24 hours if that is what it takes to downsize."

Dr HanMRCVS · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 566 Location: Johor Bahru

well pig farms are not well tolerated in many parts of this country, and although this whole incident has been poorly handled, i just wish they will show the same intolerance to other issues like crime.

from the looks of things, we have to prepare to import pork in the near future!

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Hopefully we are not importing the pork in future. Try to fight for it, if not the whole industry will collapse.

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Malacca extends deadline to pig farmers

MALACCA: Oct 4 is the new deadline given by the state government to reduce the number of pigs in farms in Paya Mengkuang, Bukit Beruang, Man Lok and Londang.

Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said the initial deadline today was extended because the pig farmers had managed to take out only 23,824 pigs, with another 97,241 pigs still remaining.

Abu Seman, who heads the state government committee monitoring the process to reduce the pig population, said the farmers also agreed to close all pig farms in Man Lok, Bukit Beruang and Londang by Oct 4.

“After Oct 4, the government will ensure that only 48,000 pigs are allowed in Paya Mengkuang,” he said.

Abu Seman, who is also Deputy Federal Territories Minister, said five pig farms in Man Lok would cease operations today while another five farms in Man Lok, Bukit Beruang and Londang would close on Sept 30.

“Another 15 farms in Man Lok and Bukit Beruang will cease operations on Oct 4,” he said, adding that the state government would monitor their closure. The agreement was reached following discussions between state MCA officials and the farmers to solve the issue.

The initial deadline to reduce the number of pigs in the state from 140,000 to 48,000 was agreed upon when the state called off an operation to cull pigs two weeks ago.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Datuk Mah Siew Keong, who visited the farms in Paya Mengkuang yesterday, said the director-general of the Veterinary Services Department and its state directors had met in Putrajaya to draw up guidelines for sewage treatment at pig farms.

In PUTRAJAYA, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the farmers had to adhere to the agreement for the Malacca state government to be flexible in its deadline.

“The state government has agreed to be flexible, including in the deadline, to solve this issue, provided the farmers keep their commitment,” he said after witnessing the signing of an agreement between Felda and Indonesia’s PT Kalpataru Investama on planting of oil palm in East Kalimantan.

Dr HanMRCVS · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 566 Location: Johor Bahru

i have this strange feeling we will be importing pork in the future from singapore, once they got the Iskandar Development Region going for them! i mean, if i were in the singapore position, the first thing i will do is to open up major livestock (poultry, beef, mutton and swine) for the singapore consumption.

well, its just a hunch.