IPOH, Jan 24 ― With Cameron Highlands supplying 10 per cent of vegetables in the markets in the peninsula, the farming community in the parliamentary constituency hopes that their new elected representative will grant them the land titles they have longed for.
Pertubuhan Pertanian Cameron Highlands vice-chairman Cheng Nam Hong said with the land titles, the farmers will be able to obtain loans from banks to further develop their farm.
“We are not asking for 99 years (leasehold) but merely 30 years,” he told Malay Mail via telephone from Tanah Rata, one of two state constituencies under Cameron Highlands parliament seat. The other state constituency is Jelai.
Cheng said farmers are not happy that they were only given Temporary Occupation Licenses (TOL).
“What era are we in now? We want leaseholds and not TOL,” he said when asked what his hopes were in the Cameron Highlands by-election this Saturday.
Cheng said with Cameron Highlands supplying at least 10 per cent of vegetables in the market, the government cannot afford to drag their feet on issuing them land titles.
“If the issue is not handled, Malaysians may end up importing vegetables in the future,” he warned.
Contrary to popular believe that the perennial traffic jam problem affecting the highlands will have a bearing on the by-election's outcome, Cheng said locals are least concerned over the matter.
“If there is no traffic jam, it means nobody is visiting the highlands and that is bad for business,” he said.
He, however, admitted Cameron Highlands does need to have more parking lots to cater to visitors.
Concurring with Cheng, local farmer MK Kumar said he was a second generation farmer working on TOL land.
“We want leasehold land,” he said.
He said by giving leasehold, it would save farmers the hassle of going to Land Office to renew their TOL.
“Sometimes the officers in charge are not around. We cannot be going back and forth to renew the TOL. We need to tend to our farm,” he said.
The 37-year-old also said he was willing to give Pakatan Harapan a chance this by-election.
“I have enough of lies from Barisan Nasional. For 61 years we are under BN, what did we get?” he asked.
He said development was not properly conducted at Cameron Highlands resulting in money being wasted.
Citing the Boh Tea plantation as an example, which he said was a top tourist attraction in Cameron Highlands, Kumar said the road there was riddled with potholes.
“There is also no proper drainage in Tanah Rata leading to flash floods during heavy rain,” he added.
The by-election is a four-cornered contest among M. Manogaran of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Ramli Mohd Noor of Barisan Nasional (BN) and two independents, former Aminuddin Baki Institute lecturer Sallehudin Ab Talib and farmer Wong Seng Yee.
It is being held after the Election Court on November 30 last year annulled the victory of C. Sivarraajh of BN in the 14th general election due to vote-buying.
