By Mariam Mokhtar
THIS Musang King is the unfinished story of the real Malaysia. The shambolic mess in Putrajaya is not the real story of Malaysia because the tale that best reflects the true state of the nation is what’s happening 100km away in Raub.
The mess in Putrajaya is the consequence of 52 years of manipulating the 4Rs (race, religion, royalty, rasuah) to benefit a small minority.
The story of the Musang King (MK) farmers of Raub, on the other hand, is a story about “might is right”. Few people want to speak about this badly kept secret, probably because of the threat of sedition.
The run-ins between the MK farmers and the Pahang state authorities are reflections of how Malaysians have been treated by the authorities.
Expand this story on a larger scale and we find many common parallels. Malaysians are bullied by Putrajaya, in similar fashion to the state harassment of MK farmers.
Most importantly, Raub is a perfect illustration of the big boys who harass the small guys.
It is about big businesses and the elite muscling-in on the little man. The big boys are the joint venture between the Royal Pahang Durian Resources (RPDR) and the state government (PKPP).
Like the durian tree with roots that reach deep underground, the MK saga started in the 1970s. The authorities were still fighting the Communist Party of Malaysia (CPM), and Raub was known as a hotbed of communist terrorists.
The authorities had urged farmers to report on the activities of the CPM and as an inducement, offered the villagers, both Malay and Chinese, resettlement nearer to Raub. As a sweetener, each farmer was promised two acres of land.
The villagers agreed to be resettled, but to this day, not all have been given the title deeds, as alleged by 80-year-old Mohamad Ali, who was the village headman in 1979.
The offer was made by the then agricultural board, Lembaga Kemajuan Perusahaan Pertanian (LKPP), which is the precursor of the PKPP.
A fortnight ago, around 18 farmers alongside Tras assemblyman Chow Yu Hui were arrested when state officials stopped farmers from harvesting the durians. It transpired that the state had ignored a high court order which prevented the eviction of the farmers, pending an appeal.
Both the Forestry Department and the Menteri Besar’s office claimed that the operation was over the illegal cultivation in a forest reserve, and denied that the arrests had anything to do with the ongoing farmer’s dispute with RPDR-PKPP.
The MB’s office claimed they had acted on their own legal advice and had interpreted the laws as they saw fit. This is just another example of the insufferable arrogance of many of the Government departments.
Similarly, isn’t this how ‘stealing taxpayer’s money’ was interpreted as a ‘donation’ by the convicted criminal Najib Razak?
When the state cannot justify its actions, it will bring in the big guns. When the Pahang state realised that the villagers were united and were standing their ground, the state and the IGP ordered General Operations Force (GOF) personnel to patrol the area, ostensibly to restore order.
These menacing-looking men with covered faces who were clad in army fatigues and armed with automatic weapons were meant to intimidate the villagers. The farmers are not terrorists but were treated as such.
In Raub and throughout the nation, the powerful know who to co-opt to their board of directors to ensure that they will always have the upper hand in securing government contracts.
Remember how Najib tried to pull the wool over our eyes by claiming that the stolen 1MDB money was a donation from an Arab prince. Why not an ordinary Arab? Did it have to be a prince? He knew that some of us are serf-like.
In Raub, like the rest of Malaysia, it is who you know, with the kebel-ke-atas (the right connections), that works like magic, and opens many doors. With the right people, the impossible, like land grabs, become possible.
Pahang MB Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail had expressed fears that the MK saga may spill over into a racial issue. He has not been paying attention.
The people doing the land grabbing (RPDR-PKPP) comprises Malays and Chinese. The farmers whose lands are seized are both Malay and Chinese. Perhaps, the MK saga is also about the nouveaux riches versus farmers.
For decades, the land office gave permission to the farmers to till the land, rather than leave it idle. Despite the farmer’s best efforts, their repeated requests to obtain temporary operating licences (TOL), or land deeds, were refused.
Then, in 2019, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) developed an insatiable appetite for MKs. Sadly, a few greedy Malaysians saw a way of manipulating the MK farmers to make a fast buck.
The farmers resisted the attempts to turn them into ‘modern-day slaves’, and last week, the state destroyed around 200 mature trees, allegedly grown illegally in the forest reserve. This is revenge politics.
The Forestry Department claimed that illegal cultivation had been on-going for over 20 years. Why was the encroachment not nipped in the bud before it could worsen?
Similarly, in Putrajaya dirty tactics, turncoats and money politics were not dealt with promptly, decades ago, and this is why Malaysian politics is a mess today.
What happens in Raub is replicated throughout Malaysia.
Until we address the problem of the ordinary rakyat being bullied by the big guys, Malaysia will not progress. What happens in Raub and Putrajaya is also a case of the minority lording it over the majority.
So, are we prepared to start talking honestly and banish the divisive abuse of ‘identity politics’?
Few people have the stomach for frank talking or for doing the right thing for the rakyat. – July 19, 2021
Mariam Mokhtar is a socio-political commentator.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
