PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) is shocked at the blatant abuse of police power against Perak farmers in the recent weeks.
This morning on April 13, 2022 the Perak police came in full force to assist a developer to carry out excavation works on farm lands cultivated by farmers for more than 40 years in Chepor Impian in Kinta, Perak.
Today’s encroachment into the land was done without any court order but yet the police assisted in this illegal land encroachment by arresting two PSM comrades who questioned both the developer and the police.
The PSM Sg Siput chairperson Agastim Mariasosai and PSM Youth member Kesavan Parvathy were arrested at about 12pm today and are being detained at the Ipoh police headquarters now.
Before this, the farmers, with the assistance, of PSM have made several police reports highlighting the previous encroachments on April 4 & 5, 2022 but no action was taken.
This is absolutely in contradiction with Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid who on Monday (April 11) denied that the police was assisting state agencies to encroach on the Kanthan land.
The incident at Chepor Impian this morning had proven otherwise as the police had arrested PSM activists who defended the land and stood in the way of the excavator as it carried out farmland-clearing works.
Just last week, another farmer from Kanthan was arrested for defending his farmland and questioning the Perak State Development Authority (Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak, or PKNP) of disrespecting the courts.
The court clearly gave instructions to the PKNP lawyers that no state agency or its agents should enter the Kanthan farmland until the matter is heard in court.
PSM condemns this blatant highhanded action by the Perak police who is without doubt in cohorts with the developer and Perak state agencies to evict the farmers and demand that the two PSM members be released immediately.
The police should also refrain from assisting developers and state agencies in carrying out the illegal eviction of farmers from their lands and abide by the process of law in the courts. – April 13, 2022
Sivarajan Arumugam is the secretary-general of Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM).
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Photo credit: Free Malaysia Today
