IPOH: The Prime Minister’s Office in Tambun parliamentary constituency will continue to liaise with Khantan farmers for an alternative site for them to continue farming, said Chan Ming Kai, political secretary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“In fact, the Perak state government has given the farmers some proposals, but there are technical issues involved in the process,” Chan told the media at the Pet Festival extravaganza held at Stadium Indra Mulia in Ipoh on Saturday.

He said the state government had provided the farmers an alternative site but there could be some problems communicating with the farmers, adding that not all farmers attended the meeting held earlier.

“The Perak state government, through Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP), proposed to the farmers 10 years ago a site next to the current site. However, the current site is proposed by the State Agricultural Development Corporation of Perak (SADC).

Some farmers have expressed their intention to farm at the site proposed by PKNP.

“There is still room for discussion,” Chan said.

Khantan farmers submitted a memorandum of understanding to the Tambun parliamentary constituency office a day before they were to be relocated.

Chan said he had arranged for the farmers to meet PKNP last Tuesday, the day the eviction was carried out.

Despite the fact six farmers had obtained an interim stay of all eviction proceedings from the Ipoh High Court on October 26, their farmland was cleared.

The farmers urged the authorities to stop using the word “illegal” farming as their effort to apply for land titles or lease has never been successful. They received no reply for the applications.

“The word ‘illegal’ does not reflect the actual situation and the background of the case.

“It has created an impression that the farmers can be treated in a harsh manner like criminals,” they said.

On the proposal made by PKNP to relocate the farmers to Changkat Kinding, the Khantan farmers claimed that farmers from Khantan “C” site had visited the proposed site while the six farmers were from Khantan “A” site.

“The site was selected without our consent. When the farmers from ‘C’ site visited the place, they found that it was a hilly site without sufficient source of water supply.

“There were several fish ponds in the foothills, and we were worried the soil might be contaminated by fertilizers and pesticides,” said the farmers.

The farmers claimed that they had informed PKNP and the land office to further discuss the issue but have so far not heard from the two offices.

At this moment, not a single farmer from Khantan has accepted the proposal to relocate to Changkat Kinding, they said.

The farmers, who have been farming in Khantan for 70 years, said they even received fertilizers aid from the agriculture department and there was a proposal by PKNP to lease the land to the farmers in 2012.

Besides the six farmers, they claimed that there are 200 other farmers in Tambun facing eviction issues as their farmlands have been sold to developers or government-linked corporations.