However, within two weeks, it had sparked a royal objection and led to wide criticism from residents and politicians, leading to intervention by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has called for the plan to be cancelled.
FMT looks into how the issue escalated, who said what, and why the plan became untenable.
A royal response
The controversy began on Jan 8 when the Selangor government announced plans to centralise the state’s pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, starting in 2030.
State infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim said the relocation to a closed, zero-emission farming system in Bukit Tagar, spanning about 202ha, would ensure the pig farming industry is managed cleanly and systematically without damaging the environment or harmony of local communities.
Two days later on Jan 10, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, publicly disagreed with the Bukit Tagar plan.
He said that while he acknowledged the need for small-scale, controlled farming of pigs to meet the needs of non-Muslims in the state, large-scale operations are unnecessary and insensitive, as Muslims make up the majority of the population, and especially given the possibility of the operations being export-oriented.
On Jan 12, the sultan said the state government will no longer allocate funds or invest in any pig farming operations, and that any related businesses must be implemented without involving state funds. Izham also said licence renewals for farmers would not be approved until they relocated their operations to Bukit Tagar.
Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said the next day, no state funds or land would be used, with all land involved being under the private sector. He said the state’s immediate priority was to close traditional pig farms and transition the industry towards modern farming methods led entirely by private operators.
Izham urged critics to view the initiative as a long-term solution for the health of the state’s residents, adding that Bukit Tagar was selected because of the landfills situated there and the scarcity of people living in the area.
Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu also said the federal government had no issue with the plan, provided the area was suitable from both an environmental and management perspective.
Mounting protests and criticism
By then, public criticism and controversy over the issue had begun to churn from both residents and politicians.
Sinar Harian reported Selangor PAS deputy information chief Nurul Islam Yusoff as questioning the zero-waste system being developed in Bukit Tagar, saying such setups still cause odour pollution with gases such as ammonia and methane. He suggested that the operation be moved instead to Pulau Ketam, where the residents are largely non-Muslim.
On Jan 16, Sinar Harian also reported that Felda residents in Hulu Selangor staged a protest, calling for the sultan to force the state government to stop the move of pig farms to Bukit Tagar, while 32 Malay-Muslim NGOs handed over a memorandum to the state government protesting the project.
The chief arguments were that the area would, despite precautions taken, cause pollution in the vicinity, and that those living around Bukit Tagar were predominantly Malay-Muslim.
On the pig farmers’ side, Perak Gerakan chairman Chek Kwong Weng called on Putrajaya to formulate a national plan for the industry’s development, saying delayed licence renewals, unclear relocation plans and frequent regulatory changes had left farmers hesitant to invest in upgrades or environmental improvements.
Oriental Daily reported him as saying that the issues now faced by farmers did not arise overnight, but were the result of structural problems that accumulated over many years, involving multiple aspects such as land use, licensing approvals, environmental regulations and market supply.
The prime minister intervenes
It all came to a head on Jan 21, when PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari highlighted in a report by Harakah that effluent from pig farms in Tanjung Sepat was flowing into the Straits of Malacca.
He claimed the farms were disposing of waste without proper treatment or compliance with regulations, and called for federal intervention. The next day, the Selangor environment department said its officers had been ordered to investigate and verify the claim.
On Jan 23, Anwar intervened, telling the state government to cancel the Bukit Tagar plan and consider a more appropriate location. He said the matter, which had been raised at a Cabinet meeting, should be given serious consideration as it revolves around environmental concerns and those of the residents.
On the same day, the Selangor Water Management Authority also said it had identified remnants of discharge from the retention ponds of several inoperational pig farms as the likely cause of the pollution in Tanjung Sepat.