LETTER | I find the act of destroying active farm land despicable, an offence of the highest degree, even treason, and in this case since, our food security situation in Malaysia is extremely vulnerable!

I was at the UN’s World Food Security Summit in Rome in the 90s and had the opportunity to monitor, present opinions with the IGO (international governmental organisations) and NGO communities as well as the government-to-government sessions face-to-face courtesy of our Malaysian ambassador to Italy during that period!

It was indeed a great experience to have a first-hand view how power politics is positioned and played by over 185 countries and the European Union (EU), IGOs and NGOs.

The objective of the summit was to renew global commitment at the highest political level to eliminating hunger and malnutrition and to the achievement of sustainable food security for all people.

The high visibility of the summit was to raise awareness among decision-makers in the public and private sectors, in the media and with the public at large.

It was to capture and set the political, conceptual and technical blueprint for an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries with an immediate view to reducing to half the number of undernourished people by no later than the year 2015.

There were follow-ups to this summit but today, in 2019, we know that did not materialise.

But my concern is today not at the global optics but to ascertain where Malaysia’s food security is benched at.

It is no secret that we import our food today and gone are the days where we were taught in our geography lessons in school that Kedah, my home state, is the rice bowl of Malaysia.

And in this diabolical scheme of things, there are many adventures, agencies formed, positioned, financed and one wonders despite all the schemes its subsidies and processes - what is the state of food security in Malaysia?

Stakeholders tell me that there are basically two groups in this sector.

One was given vast plot of land, fully provided with basic requirement, subsidies, fertilisers, professional advice and assistance.

Basically, the government had to literally beg them to work at it properly, but most of the land were left idle or was never farmed out professionally.

The other group was those who were passionate, had green fingers and farmed properly despite the land not being theirs and hence it is defined as being “illegal farmland”.

The demography here have been working very hard on those illegal farmland without any support from the government. For decades, they have been contributing to the food security of the nation and their families and foreign exchange when they export their produce to neighbouring countries.

But their existence is opened to all forms of abuse, challenges and rough house tactics allegedly by state actors and in some cases criminal cartels operating.

So I find it rather cruel and full of idiocy reading that there are attempts to clear out unlicensed farms in the country despite appeals.

The area in question seems vast and the excuse of pollution - it is as if farming is the only source of pollution and not criminal industry and destruction of vast tracks of forest for their timber concession.

I do not support illegal activities of any nature but one has to strike a balance between environment and agricultural issues and if mismatched or mishandled - its impact on food security of the nation and the affected and marginalised farmers.

State actors should not behave as if they are saints.

If a Royal Commission of Inquiry is initiated on this matter and allowed its course without adverse influence and interference. the results would be embarrassing and shocking.

There is a need for a balance and any enforcement without addressing the real felt needs of the affected communities is truly an injustice!

I appeal to the state and federal actors to please address these issues with a humanitarian mindset and not that of politics.

The writer is the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam president.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.