Thursday July 9, 2009
THE Perak Freshwater Fish Breeders Association is seeking help from the state government to ensure their fishponds do not become "victims of development".
Chairman Ng Seng Joo said the association members had been rearing fish in about 800 ponds around the Kinta Valley for the past 20 years but still did not own the plots of land.
"We hope the state will consi-der issuing us 30 or 60-year temporary occupational licences for plots on state land in Bidor, Kampar, Batu Gajah and Ipoh.
"Otherwise, it could lease the land to us," he said in a memorandum which was handed over to state executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon at his office on Tuesday.
Ng said by legalising the breeders and renting out land to them, the state could collect rent as well as earn taxes from the 1,000 tonnes of fish produced a month.
"In the event that the land has already been given away to developers, we hope the state will help us resolve the issue and ensure we are compensated accordingly," he added.
According to Ng, freshwater fish breeders in the state had played a vital role in reviving the Perak economy after the collapse of its tin industry in the 1980s.
"We were the ones who turned abandoned mines into an industry that supplies 60% of the freshwater fish demand in Peninsular Malaysia.
"Not only that, our fish are exported to Singapore and Indonesia," he said, adding that the breeders had sacrificed a lot of time and money.
Ng also revealed that the association's 100-odd members were constant victims of theft but because their operations were not legal, the perpetrators could not be prosecuted in courts.
When met later, Dr Mah said the state would study the breeders' predicament and hoped to come up with a win-win situation for all as soon as possible.
This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 9 July 2009
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