August 31, 2007

Malaysian states to speed up zoning for pig farms

State governments should speed up the process of allocating areas for pig farming, Malaysian natural resources and environment minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said.

A directive has been issued but no deadline has been imposed.

The state governments should ensure pig farming is conducted in a controlled and systematic environment to avoid pollution, he added.

Azmi also responded to complaints from residents in the state of Malacca on pollution from pig farms.

Farms refusing to switch to a more efficient and non-polluting system would be closed down, he added.

Warning political parties using it as an issue to gain support, Azmi said that the issue is strictly an environmental issue and not a racial one. Malaysia's population is made up of a Muslim-majority who do not eat pork and a minority Indian and Chinese population who do.

To further emphasize the point, he added that environmental pollution and pig diseases, if allowed to go out of control, would hit the population hard, regardless of race or religion.