Speaking after the Asean summit in the Philippines, Anwar said the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, had voiced his views because “what is happening now involves too many excesses that are affecting public health and are not being properly controlled”.

Anwar reiterated his previous positions that pig farming operations must adopt modern technology, provide assurances that no environmental pollution will occur, and “the farms must be located far away from residential areas”. In principle, he did not agree “with pig farming being allowed just anywhere” without strict regulation.

“If there are companies capable of meeting these strict conditions, then it would be difficult for the government to reject their applications outright,” he said. “That is why, for the time being, let us put this matter on hold first.”

In January, the sultan had criticised the state government’s plan to allow a pig farming operation in Tanjong Sepat, Kuala Langat, beginning this year, prior to relocation in 2030 to a 202-hectare centralised pig farming project in Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, that was intended to manage environmental waste through a closed farming system.