SHAH ALAM – Community farm Kebun-Kebun Bangsar has been slapped with an eviction notice by the Land and Mines Department according to a letter posted on their Instagram page @kebunkebunbangsar.
Its chairman Ng Sek San said they plan to put their foot down and fight to remain there Lorong Bukit Pantai in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
He confirmed that he will appeal to the authorities on the eviction.
"We are not committing a crime, we are doing urban farming to feed others and educate the children.
"We are recycling the entire neighbourhood’s kitchen waste into healthy compost and lock them up as carbon in the soil.
"Aren’t all these things the right to do? So, we will continue until we are physically thrown out if they do not agree,” he told Sinar Daily.
This comes as a surprise to many especially since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob himself mentioned about the farm in his speech on June 5.
"I am attracted to Kebun-Kebun Bangsar and Kebun-Kebun Kerinchi community projects in Kuala Lumpur that is self-funded and managed by the local communities in the surrounding area.
"I hope the government’s commitment for the green agenda is cultivated at all levels for the future generation,” he had said.
According to the letter dated June 23 by the department, Kebun-Kebun Bangsar had violated Section 425 (1) of the National Land Code 1965 and was asked to clear all their belongings immediately as the authorities will carry out the eviction process any time after the date of the letter was issued.
Uncertain on why the sudden removal, Ng said they have been in operations for the past five years and had been actively engaging with the neighbours.
He said they received support from 90 per cent of them.
However, he admitted that there was a possibility that they had been reported by one of their influential neighbour in the area.
"Our programme here is very simple, we wanted to educate the urban folks about planting vegetables to feed the poor and homeless as well as teach kids about the ecosystem and climate change.
"I think the problem with the authorities is that there is a clause where we cannot have animals in the city.
"We do have butterflies and bees but the thing is they came in a package with the ecosystem. They asked to remove the animals, we cannot,” he said.
Ng said there was a contingency plan for the animals where they will ask the donors to take their animals back since most of them were donated.
"In fact, two of the peacocks we have here were donated by the former Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin,” he said.
Zuraida is currently the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.
Ng added that they had also applied the Temporary Occupancy License from the in 2020 but had only recently been informed that they had been rejected.
Under section 425 of the code, if found guilty, the offender will be fined not more than RM500,000 or will be sentenced to jail not more than five years.