A MOVE FORWARD

The events in Camerons in the last few weeks have evoked mixed emotions..The local community has had to come to terms with the presence of the army and the immigration authorities which are doing their job of destroying the illegal farms and flushing out the illegal migrant workers… .It has also been a very difficult time for the local farmers..…My heart goes out to the small stake holders who had lived and worked on the farms for 20 to 40 years without proper documents .. Some of them illiterate and others who tried to get valid TOL permits or renew existing ones were unable to do so over a period of time because of the lack of transparency and their inability to connect with the relevant government agencies..As they are given notices to evacuate, their very means of livelihood affected, they have nowhere to go..

LAST week I attended two events .. the first was the formation of a farmer’s body called Pahang Cameron Highlands Agriculture and Farm Operators Association.. The aim of this dynamic group of young farmers is to promote the use of good agriculture practices and work with other farmer organizations in Camerons, in coordination with various government bodies …… It was very encouraging to see them acknowledge past mistakes and wanting to move forward with a positive attitude and an aim to restore Camerons to its former glory .They also hope to provide a common forum to voice the problems faced by farmers in procuring land titles, workers issues etc…This event was attended by organic farmers, environmentalists and even government officials… The second event was the PAN AP..(Pesticides Action Network) who did a seminar with REACH..This was on the impact of pesticides on human health and environment in Cameron Highlands..Several academics and scientists spoke at the forum..University Kebangsaaan Malaysia professor Prof MD Fauzi Abdullah and his team who has done research on public water supply quality in Camerons, revealed that they found 9 organo chlorine compounds in our water supply..THE findings ARE a wake up call for all Cameron Highlanders…There were traces of aldrin and endosulphan both of which are banned substances because of their harmful effects on human health..We sincerely hope that since the facts and figures are all out in the open now, the farming community will regulate the use of banned pesticide and the authorities will take the necessary remedial action needed to prevent the abuse of pesticides…

The role of the media in Camerons has been very proactive so far .. HOWEVER in the last few weeks some irresponsible reporting by the media sensationalizing the events in Camerons was uncalled for..There were some ridiculous articles , and I quote,’’ prostitution among the orang asli girls due to foreign workers,” another one that said that “farmers turning to prostitutes to lure foreign workers”..I find this kind of media coverage very disgusting.. We must not forget that migrant workers are human beings too and their issues have to be dealt with in a more humane manner… During the ongoing OPERASI against the migrant workers one has heard some horror stories about the abuse of both legal and illegal foreign labourers .I DO HOPE that the authorities dealing with them will continue their work without violating basic human rights..I ALSO hope in the future the media will also share some of the REAL stories of the PEOPLE of Camerons and the migrant workers who have been affected, their trials and tribulations in the face of tragedy…IT’S THE duty of the media to UPDATE the nation on the steps being taken by the authorities and keep the pressure on them to make sure that positive preventive action is taken. …A MIXED BAG OF EMOTIONS, YET I see a reason to be OPTIMISTIC.. A MOVE FORWARD …TILL WE MEET AGAIN IN CYBERSPACE!!!!