The Save Musang King Alliance, led by president Wilson Chang, is accusing DOA Plantation—a firm less than a year old—of occupying about 2,400 hectares of durian orchards without consent.
Chang said the company has forcibly removed farmers, tagged durian trees, and failed to show any official documents proving it has the right to operate on the land, according to the Free Malaysia Today.
“There is strong reason to believe that the firm intends to harvest durians during this season and profit from the hard work of local farmers, without any compensation,” Chang said in a recent social media post.
The alliance, along with its legal team, is considering court action to block DOA Plantation’s activities and defend the rights of local growers. Chang questioned how such a large tract of land could be handed over to a company led by directors from Penang and Sarawak and called on the Pahang government for transparency.
“We reaffirm our core belief that the land is the lifeblood of our farmers, and that every tree represents years of hard labour and care. No corporation should be allowed to exploit this without consequence.”
Chang alleged that the new company is seeking to take control of around 2,400 hectares of farmland, including orchards that have long been the subject of ownership disputes between farmers and local authorities.
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Packets of vacuumed-sealed durian fruit at the Top Fruit factory in Batu Pahat in Malaysia’s Johor state in April 2022. Photo by AFP |
The durian trees and their expected harvest are estimated to be worth over RM100 million (US$24 million).
He also said that although negotiations with the Pahang government over the farmland has not fully satisfied farmers’ demand, there has been “meaningful progress” after five years of resistance by Musang King durian farmers in Raub.
“Among the gains are better pricing terms, including an increase in the price of Grade A durians from MYR30 per kg in 2020 to MYR35 today, and clearer grading standards to ensure fairer payments to farmers,” he said.
For this reason, the Save Musang King Alliance is considering an out-of-court settlement with the Pahang government to focus efforts on its legal battle against DOA Plantation.
In April the Pahang government chopped down over 1,000 durian trees in the region, saying that they were grown on illegally occupied land.
The Save Musang King Alliance at the time argued that a court ruling from last May prohibited the government from demolishing the farms.
However, authorities countered that no court order had been violated and reaffirmed their right to clear the land.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last month said it was in the process of gathering relevant documents for its investigation into the land encroachment case.
It added that several former government officials involved in the case have been identified, but no arrests had been made.
