ADUN SPEAKS | Barring agriculture in Camerons during EMCO is overkill

ADUN SPEAKS | The government announced to put five areas in Kampung Raja, namely Sungai Ikan, Blue Valley, Taman Matahari Cerah, Taman Desa Corina, and Kampung Baru Kampung Raja under an enhanced movement control order (MCO) from June 14 to June 27.

The standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the enhanced MCO areas were only released on the evening of June 14.

Just as the rumours that were swirled around, the National Security Council (NSC) banned all agricultural activities in the five areas. Apart from that, even the agricultural activities and logistics in nearby areas such as Lojing Highlands and other areas in Cameron Highlands have been affected.

The government’s decision to place five areas under enhanced MCO was solely because of an outbreak at Flora Blue Valley Cluster, which involved 22 foreign workers in a flower farm who were tested positive.

However, its consequence is that thousands of farms, which have the collective size of 2,000 hectares and contributed 60 percent of vegetable and fruit supply in Cameron Highlands, are all being placed under enhanced MCO.

I can’t imagine the rationale that the NSC and Pusat Kawalan Operasi Bencana (PKOB) of Cameron Highlands came up with such absurd SOPs.

Among all, there are five major problems that the NSC, Ministry of Agriculture, and PKOB of Cameron Highlands should explain to the people:

1. Why are agricultural activities entirely barred for 14 days

All agricultural activities were barred once the NSC made the order, which was not in line with the rational and scientific spirits of any sound anti-pandemic policies.

First, the agricultural sector in Cameron Highlands is not a labour-intensive industry. Besides, Cameron Highlands has a rather low population density because the distance from one farm to another is rather far, thus the lower risk of human-to-human transmission.

Earlier on, I proposed to the government to conduct mass testing in order to identify the patients and allow those who tested negative to resume working. It is totally unnecessary to take an extremely drastic action, which is to ban all agricultural activities during the enhanced MCO.

Instead, the government can make Covid-19 testing compulsory for all logistics drivers and workers going in and out of the enhanced MCO area. This will ensure that we can break the virus chain while minimising the impact of enhanced MCO measures against the supply chain of vegetables nationwide.

2. Why is part of the federal road FT59 blockaded

The Cameron Highlands district has only one main road, namely the 89.9-km long FT59 road that stretches from Tapah, Perak to Blue Valley and connects all of the eight small towns in Cameron Highlands.

When the five areas in Kampung Raja, Cameron Highlands were placed under enhanced MCO, the government blockaded part of the FT59 road from Blue Valley to Kampung Raja.

This approach effectively blockaded one of the two ends of the road, thus preventing residents from other towns in Cameron Highlands from using the deferral road and causing inconvenience.

The NSC must therefore explain why the authorities blockaded the one and only road instead of targeting only the five specific areas that are placed under enhanced MCO.

3. Why is part of the federal road FT185 blockaded?

Part of the federal road FT185, which connects Lojing Highlands to Simpang Pulai, has been blockaded as well under the enhanced MCO. Lojing Highlands is located in the Gua Musang District of Kelantan, and many Cameron Highlands farmers have vegetable and flower farms in the agricultural area.

Due to the enhanced MCO, Cameron Highlands farmers are barred from entering Lojing Highlands because they have to cross the Kampung Raja area. Vegetable trucks are also barred from crossing the area to go to Simpang Pulai. Moreover, many essential service providers, who go from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands and vice versa, are unsure if they can still use the only connecting road.

4. Why is the entire Kampung Raja agricultural area blockaded?

Given that the cluster was identified in only one vegetable farm, why do the authorities bar all agricultural activities in the entire Kampung Raja area? In many places nationwide, when a cluster is found in a factory, the government will only impose an enhanced MCO to blockade the specific factory and not the entire industrial area.

Isn’t it a double standard that the NSC imposes the one-size-fits-all approach on Cameron Highlands?

5. Why Are farmers not allowed to go to Lojing Highlands?

Although the enhanced MCO is supposed to affect agricultural activities in Kampung Raja alone, the agricultural activities in Lojing Highlands, which have not recorded any positive cases, are also indirectly barred from operating.

The government should explain why Cameron Highlands farmers are not allowed to go to Lojing Highlands for agricultural purposes. Why must the Lojing Highlands be dragged into the enhanced MCO and be sacrificed together? Isn’t it an act of overkill that brings about severe consequences?

The Ministry of Agriculture at the federal level and the PKOB of Cameron Highlands have to consider the unique economic features of the Cameron Highlands agricultural sector and take into account the security of the food supply chain in order to formulate SOPs that are applicable to the economic ecosystem of Cameron Highlands agriculture.

The authorities must not come up with SOPs behind closed doors to overcorrect the situation and bring about severe repercussions.

I call upon the NSC and the Ministry of Agriculture to re-examine the SOPs and seriously look into the imminent challenges in terms of the vegetable supply and food safety.

As they say, “Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater”. Do not strangle the Cameron Highlands agricultural sector and its farmers altogether just because we wish to kill the virus.

CHIONG YOKE KONG is DAP's Tanah Rata state assemblyperson in Pahang.