Guest guest Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Tense stand-off over closure of pig farms - Malaysiakini.com Sep 4, 07 3:27pm Adjust font size: A group of 100 villagers have been facing 300 police personnel in a tense stand-off since this morning in Paya Mengkuang, Malacca, over action to close pig farms there. All roads leading into Paya Mengkuang - about 30 minutes' drive north of the city - have been cordoned off by the police, isolating the Chinese new village. There are about 200 police personnel, 50 of whom are in plastic 'space-suits', waiting for the state government's order to move into the pig farms to cull the animals. Half of the police force are from its riot-control unit, the Federal Reserve Unit. There are six excavators, brought in to dig mass graves to bury the culled pigs and six police trucks, a number of which are equipped with water cannon. On the other side are the villagers - men, women and children forming a human shield at the main entrance to their farms. The barricade includes a number of small trucks. They are carrying a dozen national flags and two big banners commemorating the nation's 50th anniversary of independence. 150,000 pigs to be culled The state government ordered the farms closed to reduce pollution and the number of pigs in Malacca - an exercise involving 15 farms with 150,000 pigs. In addition to Paya Mengkuang, two other villages are affected by the directive - Ayer Molek and Bukit Beruang new villages. Paya Mengkuang villagers claim that they did not receive the notice of closure from the authorities. The other two villages have also been cordoned off, and there is a similar stand-off between the farmers and the authorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.