Pahang MCA Youth Chief, Wong Siew Mun, is calling out Raub MP, Chow Yu Hui, for creating a political narrative online about the illegal durian farmers in Pahang.
Taking to her TikTok page, she pointed out that illegal durian plantations on forest reserve land should not be considered a source of livelihood but an environmental crime that the government is enforcing the law against.
“When the Pahang government carries out enforcement, some parties take advantage of it by trying to politicise the issue and gain support. The DAP MP quickly came to record a video, as if to be the farmer’s hero,” she said.
The Green Book Scheme
Wong Siew Mun brought up how the Raub MP had used the Green Book Scheme in regards to the illegal durian farmers, which refers to a few different initiatives, including a government program focused on promoting food production in the 1970s.
“He said, ‘There is the Green Book Scheme, why did (the authorities) destroy (the plantation)?'”
“Please do not confuse the people, do not raise issues that insinuate racial themes. The Green Book Scheme is not a land grant, it encourages farmers to plant cash crops for food security purposes. Cash crops are short-term crops that give quick results, such as spinach, cabbage, corn, papayas and more. Are durians cash crops?” she asked.
Why punish some but champion others?
She went on to highlight 2 incidents, where a former soldier was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a fine of RM50,000 for growing vegetables in a forest reserve, while another man was fined RM200,000 for building a fish pond on government-owned land in Pahang.
Stressing that this issue is not a racial one, she emphasised that the law remains the same for all races and questioned why the MP, whose party is part of the state government, chose to use social media and not the government to help the illegal durian farmers.
“So, why not bring the voices of the farmers to the negotiating table? Why not find a solution in Exco meetings?”
“Why do you feel more comfortable making videos outside, inciting the people and playing on these emotional sentiments? Farmers are indeed suffering, but we cannot find a way out by creating drama. If you want to help the farmers, bring their voices to the government table, not to social media,” she said.
Wong Siew Mun ended her post by urging the MP to stop using “cheap politics” and instead, utilise the proper channels to help the community.
“You are the people’s representative, who was given a mandate by the people, not by cybertroopers or the ‘Red Bean Army‘ whose job is to provoke. This is not about race, this is about the future of our state,” she added.
You can check out her video here:
@wongsiewmun7 Adakah Isu kebun durian Raub isu perkauman? Mari kita explore! Versi Bahasa Cina di FB page saya #TeamRakyat #WongSiewMun #fyp #politiktok #politikMalaysia #rakyatbersuara
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