Musang King - MCA vs Pemuda UMNO...

Musang King - MCA vs Pemuda UMNO....

Lapan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) menggesa Kerajaan Pahang tidak tunduk terhadap tuntutan kumpulan pekebun yang mengusahakan tanaman durian secara haram di tanah kerajaan sejak sekian lama. 

Pengerusi Sekretariat NGO Pemuda UMNO, Muhammad Faiz Hashim, berkata pekebun terbabit ingkar undang-undang dan meneroka tanah secara haram, sekali gus tindakan mereka itu seperti mencabul hak kerajaan Pahang serta rakyat. 

"Bayangkan kerajaan Pahang menanggung kerugian hingga RM30 juta cukai tanah dalam tempoh 10 tahun yang jumlah itu jika diberikan kepada rakyat miskin, ramai mendapat manfaatnya.

"Banyak permohonan tanah penduduk kampung tidak berjaya. Tiada sebab kerajaan perlu beri tanah kepada golongan terbabit," katanya selepas mengadakan himpunan secara aman membantah penerokaan tanah secara haram di Pahang di Taman Kerang di sini, semalam. Story seterusnya...

At last Pemuda UMNO pun terjumpa isu untuk dibuat skrip jadi hero. Syabas dan tahniah. Sebelum ini Ketua Pemuda cuba bangkitkan isu yang remeh untuk jaga populariti.

Takkan UMNO yang telah memerintah Pahang sejak Merdeka tahun 1957 tidak tahu bekenaan durian farmers di Raub? Kenapa kerajaan pimpinan UMNO tidak ambil sebarang tindakan selama 63 tahun yang sudah?

Walaupun sepanduk itu kata 'Tanah kami hak kami' jelas bahawa Pemuda ingin jadi champion setelah penglibatan syarikat korporat. Saya ada sedikit cadangan cepu emas bagi Pemuda. Sila umumkan nama kesemua Pengarah syarikat korporat itu.  "Orang kite" minoriti sangat lah. Majoriti itu pandai cakap omputih kut. 

Negeri Pahang memang sudah famous dengan orang besar dan orang kaya terlibat "mengambil balak", ceroboh tanah rizab hutan, ceroboh tanah kerajaan negeri, korek pasir (illegal sand mining) dsbnya. Ramai orang terlibat. Semua bangsa terlibat.  Dan balak itu pun jadi plywood dsbnya yang diekspot ke luar negara. Bukan semua dijual dalam negara pun. 

Jadi, oleh sebab Pemuda sudah buat NGO, kenapa Pemuda tidak senaraikan semua kes orang ceroboh tanah kerajaan di Pahang? Be fair lah. Takkan bau wangi Musang King saja terlekat di hidung? Pakai face mask filter Musang King ke? 

Ya betul mereka buat dusun di tanah kerajaan. Betul kerajaan negeri hilang cukai tanah, sewa tanah dsbnya. Tetapi farmer itu pun pernah mohon TOL dsbnya. Kalau kerajaan negeri memberi mereka TOL sudah tentu kerajaan negeri sudah kutip banyak duit. Lagipun farmer itu sedia bayar cukai tanah, yuran sewa dsbnya kepada kerajaan negeri. 

Tetapi yang peliknya kenapa pula setelah mereka berusaha selama berpuluh tahun, sesudah mereka berpeluh darah menjaga pokok durian, setelah pokok sudah besar, dan buah sudah jadi, tiba-tiba kerajaan negeri bagi lesen sewa tanah tetapi kepada orang lain? 

Apa rasional nya? Sebab ikut prosedur kalau lah kerajaan negeri ingin halang pembukaan tanah secara haram, the correct procedure is musnahkan kesemua dusun pokok durian yang haram.   

Seperti yang telah di buat di Sg.Terla, Cameron Highland (contohnya). Ikut prosedur, kerajaan negeri telah musnahkan vegetable farm di Terla yang dibuka atas tanah kerajaan tanpa TOL atau lesen guna tanah. 

Di Terla pihak kerajaan Negeri tidak merampas dan sewa balik vegetable farm yang haram itu kepada syarikat korporat.  So to be fair dusun Musang King pun elok dimusnahkan saja - serupa dengan Terla. 

But that is not going to happen. Why? I think I know why. Sebab sayur dan kobis tak ada bau wangi seperti Musang King.  Musang King wangi dia kuat. Boleh sampai ke Hong Kong dan Beijing di mana satu kilo Musang King dijual dengan harga RM300 !!  Musang King memang has very powerful smell. 

Ini bukan kes curi balak. Atau kes curi pasir. Yang masih berlaku dalam negara kita, termasuk di negeri Pahang. Tetapi kenapa NGO Pemuda tidak protes dan berdemonstrasi untuk membantah kes curi balak, curi pasir dsbnya? How come? 

Tanaman sayur, bunga dan buah-buahan di Cameron Highlands itu adalah harta negara. Begitu juga tanaman halia di Bentong, dusun durian di Raub, birds nest dsbnya. 

Cameron Highlands juga sudah menjadi pusat pelancongan taraf dunia yang menjana foreign exchange earnings (pertukaran wang asing) yang lumayan bagi negara. Tak payah sebut lah berkenaan peluang pekerjaan, hotel, bas ekspres dan banyak lagi bisnes yang berkaitan. 

Cameron Highlands menjadi paksi "food security" negara kita juga. Jadi jagalah Cameron Highlands itu dengan baik.  Jika tanah vegetable farmers di Cameron Highlands ditarik balik, kita tak boleh makan sayur. Buah strawberi pun akan hilang dari supermarket. 

Ringgit Malaysia juga akan jatuh lagi sebab Cameron Highlands mengekspot banyak sayur, bunga-bungaan dan hasil tanaman lain ke luar negara yang bantu ekonomi negara kita mendapat foreign exchange yang lumayan. Bila ekspot sayur, bunga-bunga dan buah-buahan bertambah Ringgit Malaysia pun kukuh. So jangan pi kacau depa ok...

Begitu juga dengan tanaman halia (ginger farming) di Bentong. Pasaran dunia iktiraf halia Bentong antara yang top quality di dunia. Ekspot halia dari Bentong juga menjana foreign exchange yang lumayan bagi negara kita. Ringgit Malaysia pun kukuh. Jangan pi kacau. 

Sebaliknya kita mesti fikir cara untuk membantu penanam halia Bentong, vegetable farmer Cameron Highlands dsbnya menambahkan lagi output atau pengeluaran mereka. So that ekspot negara akan bertambah, Ringgit Malaysia akan kukuh, peluang pekerjaan akan bertambah, ekonomi akan maju dan banyak lagi lah. 

Saudara Pemuda jangan jealous kalau dia orang dapat pendapatan yang lumayan. Sebarang pendapatan yang mereka dapat pun sebab they work very hard. Di Raub, depa jaga pokok durian sebatang-sebatang. They care for the durian trees one by one. Depa bubuh baja yang mahal, ikut timing yang betul, depa menyiram pokok.

Durian farming bukan tidak ada risiko. Begitu juga vegetable farming. Tiada bisnes yang tidak hadapi risiko. Bukan selalu boleh untung. Sekarang (sebab teknoloji pokok kahwin, baja mutu tinggi dsbnya) sering berlaku pokok durian berbuah dengan lebatnya.  Harga durian boleh jatuh sehingga beberapa Ringgit saja sekilo. Durian farmer boleh rugi. Kalau kena serangga perosak depa boleh rugi, kalau tupai makan buah durian depa rugi. Semua jenis perniagaan ada risiko. 

So kepada Ketua Pemuda UMNO, you must provide real leadership. Pemuda perlu mature dalam fikiran mereka dan bukan saja melompat-lompat, menjerit-jerit, menunjuk penumbuk, protes dan demonstrasi tanpa faham yang mana ke hulu dan yang mana ke hilir. 

Btw,ini bukan soal politik, sebab pekebun yg terlibat ramai juga orang Melayu yang menyokong parti memerintah Pahang. Ini soal integriti pihak berkuasa yang gagal menjalankan tugas dengan mengikut SOP yang ditetapkan sejak sekian lama. Sebab itu kebun durian boleh membuahkan hasil walau pun diceroboh secara haram...

Akhir kalam sila lihat nasihat berikut yang jernih dan simple : 

Al-Maaidah 5:8 Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, hendaklah kamu semua sentiasa menjadi orang-orang yang menegakkan keadilan kerana Allah, lagi menerangkan kebenaran; dan jangan sekali-kali kebencian kamu terhadap sesuatu kaum itu mendorong kamu kepada tidak melakukan keadilan. Hendaklah kamu berlaku adil (kepada sesiapa jua) kerana sikap adil itu lebih hampir kepada taqwa. Dan bertaqwalah kepada Allah, sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui dengan mendalam akan apa yang kamu lakukan. - Syed Akbar Ali

Raub Musang King Crisis 

In Perspective...

It is estimated that 60% -70% of MK(Musang King) supply in Raub district comes fr. growers on "unlicensed" state lands. This phenomenon happened since the 60s when many of the first generation growers, poor and destitute, planted banana and papaya to eke out a living. Later, they ventured into durian cultivation. But durian cultivation was both capital n labor intensive, and was prone to disease attack. Not many succeeded from durian cultivation. From 1980/90s, many of Raub growers had to fell the durian trees n replaced them with Cocoa and later oil palm.

The Musang King variety has been around for about 30 years. For the first 20 years, pricing for MK was not attractive at all until the late Stanley Ho, the Macau Casino Magnate air-flown it to HK/Macau......So MK only gained popularity abt 10 years ago n price appreciated a lot only in the last 6-7 years.

Raub reportedly produces the BEST MK due to its soil, terrain  and climatic condition. Raub is now well known because of MK. And these so-called unlicensed growers contributed 60%-70% of the MK supply. The global durian market was dominated by Thai varieties.....until MK came along. In recent years, mainland chinese consumers insisted on Raub's MK.

It took us decades to break Thailand's stranglehold, but we will lose it back with the stroke of a pen under the guise of a "legalisation " scheme, forced upon the growers by the Royal Pahang Durian Resources Group(RPDR) and a Pahang State GLC (JV).

Some principal T and C of the one-sided, onerous and unfair/unjust contract are:

1. These growers have to pay RM6,000/acre annually to the JV company.(note: not to the gomen directly)

2. Contractually, they have to produce 2,000 kg /acre of MK. failing which, they can be penalised. (btw, as a grower, I’m still searching for the magic formula to produce 2 tons yield consistently on an annual basis).

3. Once signed, the growers can not get out of the contract but are forced to toil on the land....even if they incur losses otherwise they can be penalized , again.

4. The fruits can only be SOLD to the JV capped at RM30/kg for grade A. They are not even allowed to bring home the MK for friends/families' consumption! When confronted, RPDR justified by saying that they are paying additional RM10/kg levy to the State. So, for 2,000 kg of fruits per acre, the additional levy is RM20,000(RM10x2,000)/acres on top of the RM6,000 lease rent/acre. This is daylight robbery.

Generally, for MK grading, it is categorised as A, B, and C. (but grade C is not available in the market). Where there exists competition i.e. many players competing for supply, pricing n fair grading system will find it's own equilibrium. This is free market practice.

The growers are now forced to sell to ONE party and under this monopolistic condition, there is no stopping RPDR to victimize the growers further thru the MK grading. How? Very simple, just downgrade 50% of the grade A to B fruits.....the consequential loss of revenue to the growers will be enormous.

This scheme has been well thought of since several yrs ago. RPDR is building the largest durian processing plant on a 25 acres land, in Tras. Our guess is that the construction cost will come substantially from the levy of RM30 million (RM6,000x 5,000 acres of unlicensed land). Reportedly, the growers will not be paid CASH for their harvest.

RPDR's plans are brilliant - construction cost, get it from the levy and working capital from delayed payment to the growers! And they have the cheek to label this as a win-win approach.

Three likely scenario will emerge:

1) Price of durian will drop. Why, cos their acquisition cost is capped at RM30. This is of course if they want to pass the benefits to consumers....your guess? Don't count on it.

2) Price will dip initially but eventually will increase markedly. Why you may ask? Very simple ,the growers are NOT taking up the unfair offer. They are prepared to vacate the orchards. Most of these growers have on the average 15 years and above of experience in durian cultivation but without them , the orchards will "rot " 2-3 years from now. Trees will be weakened n die from neglect......supply will dip....but demand will continue to grow esp. in overseas markets. Thailand, our competitor, will stand to benefit from it.

3) When pushed to a corner, they are prepared to take extreme measures to ensure that RPDR will not benefit from their years of sweat and tears...

In the eighties, we exported our Proton to China....now Proton is given a lifeline by Geely.
What else can we export to China? Musang King....due to the entrepreneurial spirit of all stakeholders in the MK supply chain, not least the productive contribution from these growers. The Government does help in some ways but only a small part in making MK Malaysia's next golden crop. But instead of helping further, someone else now wants to milk the cow.

Remember : Govt spent hundred of millions to rear cattle. Instead we now have cow-condo. Millions were spent on fishery projects and failed. We even built a Tuna fish Jetty/port in Penang that did not see the light of the day; and we overpaid a ship building company that has thus far failed to deliver the ship as scheduled.

It's very ironic- those who are given the land, refused to work on it; yet those want to make productive use of the land are not given the land. The country /state will suffer, RPDR will not get its intended results, with the biggest losers being these growers.

As reported, these growers are willing to negotiate with the state government BUT not RPDR . RPDR has no role to play in this MK supply chain for it does not and can not value add! It just does not hv the Expertise! Period.

RPDR's arguement that it helps to prevent the industry from being dominated/manipulated by foreign players; that it assists growers to obtain Mycap certification are bullshit!

The durian industry is a free market. Supply n demand will determine the price. In fact, RPDR's monopoly over 60%-70% of the supply will distort the free market mechanism. As for Mycap, it's a certification process under the Ministry of Agriculture. What is your role in this, RPDR ?

Actually, the real motive behind getting these growers certified is so that RPDR can export their produce to China. That's why they are constructing the largest processing plant in Raub.

As for the State gomen, instead of leasing out these lands to an inexperienced private company, why can't it leases it out directly to the experienced growers who hv toiled for generations on these lands. It’s hard to convince rakyat that there isn't more than meet the eyes in this MK saga.

The encroachment by these growers is not right; but the manner in which the gomen justified its action is worse. How to make Malaysia Great if this rent-seeking mentality is so pervasive? - From the thoughts of a legal durian grower born in Raub.

cheers.

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