PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested four people, including Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, in relation to a protest held at the Kanthan vegetable farm in Tambun, Perak.
The three others were PSM committee member M Karthiges, Perak PSM Youth member P Kesavan, and a farmer identified as Ho Pon Tien.
“PSM condemns this high-handed action by the Perak state government against farmers that feed the rakyat!
“We demand that those arrested be immediately released,” the party’s secretary-general, A Sivarajan, said in a statement.
Jeyakumar is a former Sungai Siput MP.
At the protest earlier today, Karthiges told reporters that the farmers had been handed an eviction notice on Oct 13, stating that their farms were situated on land owned by the Perak Development Corporation and instructing them to vacate the land within a week.
During the protest, a PSM activist named Chong Yee Shan was allegedly shoved by a Perak land and mines (PTG) officer while she was attempting to stop the officers – who had arrived at the site with bulldozers and excavators – from carrying out the eviction order.
Chong was then taken to the nearest hospital after sustaining injuries to her nose, mouth, and wounds on her legs and hands.
“We demand Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s immediate intervention. This is his parliamentary constituency and he should resolve the matter and ensure these productive farmers are guaranteed land rights to continue farming and ensure food security for the nation,” Sivarajan said.
Meanwhile, Perak PTG director Fariz Hanip said the farmers had been allocated another piece of land not far from this location a year ago because of the planned development.
