Agriculture in Limbo

(20-July-2014)

Where is our agriculture heading to ?

On one end we have politicians, the academia, agricultural market leaders, economist, socio-economic analyst and the list can keep on increasing……saying “the humongous opportunity of our agricultural products and it’s diversity has the potential of being successfully marketed both locally and internationally”.

On the other end we also have voices grumbling about the lack of activity of agriculture throughout the country and the situation needs to be repaired otherwise we will loose our opportunity to supply to the OIC countries, the ASEAN countries and will eventually loose our competitive edge to compete. Even the halal business is being controlled by non-bumi entrepreneurs and ironically we know that the consumers are 80 – 85 percent bumiputras. Why can’t the bumis get into the halal business ? What is so difficult. What has the Government done that the situation is like this ? WHY ?

So how halal is our halal food that is made available to us ?

Even meehun produced by non-bumis and produced under unhygienic conditions are being packed nicely with a mosque being printed as a brand. Is this being allowed sparingly without much care and to disguise it for the benefit of the muslim consumers.

So….what is/are our real problem(s) ?

Allah has bestowed upon us with a country that is blessed with relatively very stable Government ever since the date of our independence. Allah has provided us with good agricultural environment such as good soil, plentiful of water supply for the agricultural use, right amount of sunshine, abundance of natural flora and fauna and not to say the least…..very limited natural disasters.

Again….what is our real problem(s) ?

Are we addressing the problem(s) at the root end ? Meaning do we understand what the problems are ?

The Minister of Agriculture at one time wanted to create a new university to address the agricultural problems. Will a new campus under a different management and a new name make a significant difference and impact to the agricultural scenario ?

The answer is….ofcourse NO.

It may even cause more problem(s).

It would mean more public funds will have to be used to make a new university. The expertise just don’t grow off the tree….so you have to manned the university from the current human resource pool of expertise meaning from the existing professors and lecturers of UPM or even engage already retired lecturers who may or may not be up-to-date which the technology of the day.

I personally have heard that the agricultural graduates of today is not as good as those of yesteryears. It is not that the graduates are BAD but the way that the students were being recruited to be students of agriculture in UPM or any where else and the way that they are being trained or taught nowadays.

Prior to the 90’s……agriculture was one of the main focal point. Agricultural education take precedence. Students were at one time being interviewed just to get a place in Kolej Pertanian Malaya (KPM). One must not discount the fact that during the bad times through the years since independence till now…..I can say that agriculture has been there at the doorsteps of foreign banks and foreign investors to save the nation. Rubber and Palm Oil has always been there to be our perennial saviour plus the lesser known crops but none-the-less contribute to the GNP.  More credit and attention should be given to the agricultural sector and agricultural education. This is a very serious matter.

Students were required to study basic sciences and living sciences. Lots of emphasis were placed on practical trainings, vacation job placements and integrated extention education.

Starting from the mid-80’s…..it seems as though the emphasis was more towards leap-frog industrialization and during this time agriculture lost its emphasis as a bread-and-butter business of Malaysia. It was infrastructure…infrastructure and infrastructure. Even University Pertanian Malaysia lost its name to University Putra Malaysia. Thus loosing its focus of pertanian in University Putra Malaysia.

A man can be dressed as an ULAMAK but does the dress make him into an ULAMAK. We just pray that the man does not turn out to be ular dalam semak. What I am saying is that the name change does not make a graduate a better person….it is the training and getting the right person to be the right agricultural graduate who will be in the field with the farmers…..that should be the objective. Not a graduate who prefers to stay in the air-conditioned office and controlling the farmers without going into the field. This may be an over exaggeration but the meaning is important.

From my discussions with the VC and the Bursar of UPM…..it was revealed that to get students to register for agriculture is a real problem. Difficult to even get 800 students or so.

Why is this so ?

We have gone so call…..sophisticated by using computers to choose the student candidates for all courses that the human factor has been brushed aside. We have become impersonal. No faces, no eyes, no discussions….just serial numbers and this is the result of that.

Agriculture cannot be impersonal. It is a living science. It is a science of human touching bases. It is very holistic in nature.

In the early years (before 1980’s), students apply to be in KPM because they want to do agriculture. Why do they want….maybe because they are interested to learn agriculture and to practice agriculture or to teach agriculture. We know life in agriculture is not plain sailing. Some had to be posted into areas where “jin kena tendang” these were the areas where new schemes like FELDA was being opened then. Posted to Sabah and Sarawak in 1980’s is no joke then. But we still applied to be enrolled into KPM. We were interviewed and shortlisted and some had to go for final interview before being admitted into KPM. That was then.

When we graduated with only a Diploma Pertanian we were sought after even before we graduated because previous graduates had the reputation of being hardy, streetwise, innovative and KPI oriented. Many were even recruited by non-agricultural companies due to the flexibility and versatility of the Diploma Pertanian graduates then. They can do almost any job given to them.

But that was then…………..

What’s wrong with it now ?

Now because of computerization even though a brilliant student applies to take agriculture because he is interested in agriculture, the computer will determine which university he will be placed in and to do what course. Because when he applies to the IPU he has to give three (3) optional choices of courses that he is interested in. And the computer or the computer behind the keyboard will decide for the student.

In the end…..we will have students who are not interested to do agriculture taking agriculture because the computer says so and because not many really want to take agriculture as a course and so they have no other options but to do agriculture by force……

Years down the line we will have lots of agricultural graduates who are not interested in doing or practicing agriculture but being made Agricultural Officers or Assistant Agricultural Officers resulting in them doing the work just to fill up the time or waiting to get a better offer. In a rude way they become agricultural misfits in a very important role and position and achieving very little. The farmers are not getting a fair deal and the nation (Malaysia) is not getting a fair deal and this is where we are at now.

Ofcourse not all agricultural graduate are misfits but that is the gist of it.

We tend to have a mismatch of quality of personnel to job specification in agriculture.

The graduates may have the knowledge but the reality is that we have graduates whose hearts are not really in agriculture because they were forced into agriculture.

Why can’t we have interviews and not computers only to admit students into universities for courses that require human touch.

As mentioned earlier, before the mid-80’s the emphasis in KPM/UPM was theory and practical knowledge in agriculture plus extention education skills and there were lots of in-field training. This is because the soon-to-be graduates will be a major force for the country to move agriculture…..they will be the major engine of change. Knowledge of agricultural science simplified to be transferred to the farmers and this is where the importance of the quality of the graduates are so important.

Upon graduating, back then you would be almost immediately absorbed into the agricultural workforce. However if you are assigned to the government departments then you may be an Agricultural Officer (degree holder) or Assistant Agricultural Officer (diploma holder). At the State level, the officers were provided or given some incentives to stay within their operating area so that they would be near the farmers and be with the farmers even after office hours. Everything can be centered around the officer as he can be met a coffee shops, surau, masjid, community centers and shops, practically there in the area all the time. This was the modus operandi of the agricultural officer…..then.

Now such perks (not really perks) are not being provided to ensure that the required officer be in the area of work. So he may be working in Perlis and staying in Alor Setar (Kedah). They try to come on time but certainly go back on time so that he can reach his home about 40 minutes away not too late to go for the pasar minggu or doing other chores with the family.

If the Government is serious about the state of health of AGRICULTURE in Malaysia……then the Government must relook at the present condition and practice of work as well as to the specification of the workforce.

There is no point in the university producing graduates that the industry is not happy with. Are we producing products that the market wants or desires ? Or are we producing because we have to produce them……it’s like TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. Surely we can do better for the nation and to ensure that the Malaysian stomachs are being fed regularly and at affordable prices.

HOW DO WE ENTICE STUDENTS TO BE INTERESTED IN AGRICULTURE ?

1.     The university must produce graduates that the market wants.

2.     Courses must be tailor-made to the industry

3.     If agriculture is important to the nation, then the Government should consider providing with incentives or special allowances to be agricultural graduates. Similar to personnel working in specialize fields. Just how important is agriculture to the nation ? Why can’t the authorities provide these agricultural soldiers with government owned housing and these officers are required to stay in that house within the working area thus ensuring that they are with the farmers most of the time. This is where technology transfer is more easily done and confidence build-up to the agency, the Government as well as to the system.

4.     With internet being the “in thing” lots of information can be gathered from but it is never the same without the human factor. How would the aging farmers translate modern technology into practical actions and harvest the yield. This can only be done through a trained human interface.

5.     On the question of aging agricultural population in Malaysia being about 67 years old on the average….I am the Government realized it but what are they going to do about it. If this phenomena is not arrested and a solution to overcome it then we may be faced later with lots of “tanah terbiar” and the land become more uneconomical to work on. This is because the younger rural youth are not interested to in the agricultural business as it is being looked at as inferior in nature

6.     How do we get the younger generation to be genuinely interested in the agricultural business. I am not talking about the “flash of the pan” type of promo agricultural business where newspaper and tv coverage is being hyped up and after a season or two…..it fizzles away. The key word here is GENUINELY INTERESTED not just because the Government have a program to get agriculture moving. If that is the case then it will only be a short term program and will not last.

7.     Also agriculture must now be on a commercial scale operation. This cannot be done unless unproductive size fields can be contiguous to the next and making them more sizable and more economically viable in nature to operate at commercial scale. This is because more efficient machines are being used with less interruptions of land division boundaries and less manpower to do the whole work. Thus it becomes a more efficient operation and will result in a cheaper operational cost per unit of yield production.  

In short…..the Government must view the profession as an agriculturalist as important to the national interest. Therefore the Government should UPGRADE the status of the agricultural human resource chain. The officers should be proud to be an agriculturalist and that agriculture is a noble field to be involve with.

To the public….the agricultural officers must be viewed to be “special” then only we can expect to have more people to apply to be in the Faculty of Agriculture or in the agricultural sciences as student…..better scholarship scheme, better training methods and better potential to go up the promotion ladder in the long run.

Without these serious considerations……agriculture will remain in it’s present dismal situation. Then we have nobody to blame but to the policy makers.

Please bear in mind that….that hungry stomachs may and could lead towards future anarchy. Once the ball of anarchy starts to roll….there is no way you can stop it easily.

TAKE HEED.

Surprise ?
I am again after such a long lapse of time that I reappear on this BLOG again.
The cookies CHIPSMORE is better in terms of appearance....for me its been more than 2 years now.
Since then....one General Election (13th Malaysian GE) has gone by and I was not in the line-up this time round.

How do I feel ?
Honestly.....initially the feeling is a feeling of disappointment but after the initial disappointment which took me about 4 or 5 days to get by I felt a sense of happiness, light shouldered and a feeling of freedom.
This freedom cannot be revered for too long as the constituents still come back to you due to familiarity and ability to solve some specialized problems.

Once the candidate was named....it became a duty that we must ensure that the NEW CANDIDATE be introduced to the voters in the constituency.
The candidate no matter how well positioned he think he is must not take things too lightly as the candidate was from another constituency. The strategy was to take along the NEW CANDIDATE to most areas and to be seen with the outgoing WAKIL RAKYAT so that the signal that we send is that the TOP Leadership has made the choice and the outgoing WAKIL RAKYAT has no problem with that and that full support is being given to ensure winning the election.
ALHAMDULILLAH......Barisan Nasional won in Perlis only losing 2 State seats (Sanglang and Indera Kayangan).

Many friends and journalist asked me what I think of the candidates of Barisan Nasional for Perlis and later what I think of the lineup of Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
My answer is very simple......
Whatever is in our thoughts then would only serve whatever our emotions are at that point of time.
But.....it is the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister alone. The PM may have is own reason(s) for choosing certain people no matter what we think of that Minister or Deputy Minister.

I am sure if you are the PM....you would not want anybody else to interfere with the Cabinet lineup unless the PM ask for your opinion.
Look at it this way.....if the candidate fails....then PM fails too.
If the Minister makes a big mistake......like it or not the PM cannot say I didnt know about it because the Minister was the PM's choice.

Today....being the twentieth day of March 2014 and heading towards to Kajang bye-election between Dr. Wan Azizah (PKR) and Chew May Fun (MCA) all political pundits are really talking about what happens after the results of the Kajang Bye-Election has been declared.
Most are predicting a Cabinet reshuffle which is really need to be done.....WHY ?
-  The MCA internal ruffles has been combed out and things look pretty with the young Leaders.
-  I am sure MCA would want to be a force to be noticed and respected especially with the new leadership and would like to reclaim some of the Cabinet seats.....
-  The Hindraf man who came in and went out is no longer a Deputy Minister leaves an empty seat.
-  Some Ministers and/or Deputy Ministers
 who are currently holding cabinet post may have lost their positions in their own internal party elections. I am sure the party members and especially the new office bearers of the party would want to make the changes to reflect the party's requirements.

All in all the timing is ripe to make a Cabinet reshuffle.....a reshuffle that would reflect to the public both nationally as well as internationally the confidence to face the very challenging times ahead of us.
Respect must be earned.....the same applies to the Cabinet lineup.
Good luck.

AN INSIGHT OF THE COMING OF 2015 (1)

JUST A SHORT NOTE TODAY....

Today being my 60th birthday has not been any different from most days but certainly felt a sense of achievement.

Two days ago I met a new acquaintance by the name of Dr. Winston who has a thriving factory producing composite wood in Kelang, Ipoh and China. Thus I invited him to come to Perlis to have a look at the potentials in Perlis.

To compliment his existing composite wood production Dr. Winston is also interested in making composite bamboo wood items. This I agreed to assist as bamboo is self sustaining and grows very fast unlike timber where after many years it will have to be chopped down.

In the long run I think the Government should go into using composite wood and composite items to reduce the Government expenditure such as the buildings of houses for the homeless and the poor. We keep on building houses or repairing the houses endlessly. This is because natural wood will expand and contract with the weather and will rot if not treated properly. Plus the infestation of termites which will destroy completely the house. This natural process will cost hardship to the people, cause a problem to agencies involve and most of all will drain the Government's coffer.

The plan is to encourage people to grow bamboo which is one of the easiest plant to grow and with little or no agronomic care. The bamboo can also be grown in the areas under agencies like JPS and concession it out t individuals to maintain the area under their care. If there is an assured volume of bamboo supply then only will investors be interested to set up a composite wood/bamboo manufacturing plant.

THIS IS A WORTHWHILE ENTERPRISE AND PROJECT TO PONDER....

This is because it is more environment friendly.
Easy to grow and can be self generating an no replanting cost is involve.
Easy to manage.

BAMBOO HERE WE COME TO GREET THE 2015

NO PLASTIC BAGS ???

While I was away for a few weeks performing my Haj, I asked a friend to keep articles relating to my interest. This happens to be on PLASTIC BAGS.

It seems that the Chief Minister of Penang is banning the use of plastic bags in Penang effectively from January 2011. Actually I don't blame the Chief Minister of Penang for taking such an action....because plastic bags are a menace to the environment. Good to use, easy to use, light in weight as it is but a trouble to the future generation if one does not know how to handle it.
WHY ?
Because if you burn it, the plastic bags will not be destroyed but changes it's form and at the same time while burning the plastics will give out gases which is not suitable for the human as well as the environment. And if the plastic bags are being collected and ferried to the landfill area...which is the main destination for all the waste material the plastic bags will be eventually buried. Plastics in whatever form if buried will not decompose even for 500 years. This will lead to future problems for the future generation.

On the other hand a lot of the plastics are also "just thrown away whenever and where ever. Many will contribute to the unsightly landscape having litters everywhere.

Some may end up in the drains and cause drainage blockage and may contribute to flash flood which is happening far too often. As in the case of Bangladesh here has been documentations that a major factor of the frequent floods that has taken numerous lives and have destroyed so many properties mainly because of the clogging of the drainage systems by the deposition of the plastic bags. This can be overcome by using the latest innovation that we already have and yet achieving an economic gain from the production of high grade diesel.

Some plastic bags may even land into streams then to the rivers and finally into the sea. This may seem so innocent but as a floating plastic bag in the sea....it mimics the shape and movements of the jellyfish. We have seen on numerous occasions that turtles have been found dead as a result of being choked by the ingestion of plastic bags. All in all.....plastic bags are a problem to the society now and going to be a big problem environmentally in the future.

ALL PROBLEMS REMAINS A PROBLEM IF WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.

HOWEVER....IF THAT EXISTING PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVE AND CAN HAVE A MORE VIABLE OPTION THEN IT IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED AS A PROBLEM. THEN THE PROBLEMS CAUSED PREVIOUSLY BY PLASTIC BAGS WILL NO LONGER BE A PROBLEM. I am sure such a statement can be agreed upon.

Well we have a solution and a relatively very good solution.

Perlis the smallest state in Malaysia is not short of wanting to contribute to the development of the State and the development of Malaysia.

Some months ago, Perlis launched Malaysia"s first PLASTIC TO DIESEL PROJECT. This was not an MOU signing ceremony with all the fan fair but the actual gusto. The MB of Perlis launched the production plant. The ceremony was recorded and went into the newspapers the following day. Even DYMM Raja Perlis viewed the plant and was impressed with such a plant. The question is HOW COME IT DID NOT CATCH THE ATTENTION OF THE MALAYSIAN SCIENTIFIC FRATERNITY, PETRONAS, THE MINISTRIES IN THE GOVERNMENT (MOSTI, GREENTECH, ENVIRONMENT etc etc)....WHY ???

This project could propel Perlis and Malaysia into the global market.

Tell me a time where diesel as a commodity that is not wanted. It is an energy source which is getting less and less by the year. What more the cost of fuel is getting higher and higher every time. And from today's newspaper the cost per liter of diesel is getting closer and closer to the cost of petroleum Ron 95 and yet our quality of Malaysian diesel is of low quality.

This innovation has emerged at the right time when diesel prices are soaring higher and higher. The awareness of the environment is very critical now plus the problem of what to do with the plastics when it is the best form so far for carrying goods because of its tensile strength.

What Penang intends to do does not mean it has solved the problems of plastic bags and wrappers.

What Perlis intends to do is to be the fabricator for this innovation so that more and more States in Malaysia and more and more municipalities can have such a plant to cater for its problems and churn out usable good quality diesel which would be in turn use to mobilize the water pumps, tractors, lorries or anything that requires diesel to run the machinery.

As far as the quality of diesel is concern, it is about time that the Malaysian consumer get a better quality diesel than what we are getting now If you have a diesel run car or vehicle...the diesel engine will deteriorate faster by using our currently supplied diesel.

What Malaysia can do is to get this high quality diesel and sell it as a commodity in the international market to get premium price and import in either Eur-3 or Euro-4 grade diesel. In this way....everybody wins.
We will rid or reduce the plastic waste, the environment will be cleaner, the Government or PETRONAS will be able to get premium price for the high grade diesel by selling in the international market and we the consumers will be able to get better grade diesel to use i our vehicles or machine and will make the vehicle or machines last longer with less maintenance because of using a better quality diesel.

This is an innovation that will be a contribution towards the State of Perlis, to Malaysia, to the world, to society, to the environment and to THE FUTURE

INCINERATOR ???

Just this morning (Sunday 7th Nov 2010) I noticed that the newspaper The Star did a poll on if we agree to having an INCINERATOR as compared to dumping our rubbish into the LANDFILL areas ???

The question is.....does it have to be the way of a LANDFILL or even the INCINERATOR to rid the waste problems.

Yes the days of the landfill has had it's use but with all the environmental awareness the landfill method as a solution may not be the answer now. This is because we are using more and more land to use it as a landfill purpose. There will never be an end to the increase of waste production. Population numbers are increasing by the minute and with more population there will be more waste being created. As a general rule it is estimated that between 1.2 Kg to 2.5 Kg of all waste is being generated on a daily basis per head. The amount generated would be dependent on the effluency of the nation. Just imagine how much waste is being produced everyday !!!

To solve the problem of getting rid of the waste we "throw" them into the landfill. This is solving one problem and creating another problem. Today with the amount of plastics being used and we just discard them....they land themselves in the landfill. Plastics do not decompose even for 500 years.

Years down the line....when the landfill area "seems" to be stable maybe some development will be on top of it. How stable is that development area ? What about the gases that's going to be produced as a result of chemical reaction ? These gases are likely to be combustable. It is in a way....a time bomb if we are not careful.

What about the amount of leachate that's going to be produced ? Where is the leachate going to go ? As the leachate is in a solution or liquid form....it will follow the gravitational flow just as water would. It will leached into the underground water system. This has cause so much problem in many countries already (without mentioning the country's name).

In short landfill methods has had it's useful years but with advance in technology and the care towards environment...it is no longer a preferred method of disposing waste material.

Now....what about the INCINERATOR ?

Personally even the incinerator is not a good method to categorize it as a cure for all. It may be a better solution compared to the landfill method but don't we have other methods other than these two methods ?? Before I give my opinion on the other methods let me give my views on the incinerator.

Again this is another " solve a problem and create another problem" situation. Why do I say this ?
It's because at high temperature you can burn away the waste material easily. However there would be issues such as what the nearby residents want. Having an incinerator nearby would mean the smell, the trafficq flow leading to the dumping site. At the same time, having an incinerator as big as the one proposed as in Broga would mean that it is HUGE. This huge incinerator would act like a small volcano, emitting heat and there is also the question of DIOXINS. Yes we solve the problem by burning the waste material but the will be the amount of heat being generated from this plant which will in a way disrupt the balance of the environment. The byproduct that is going to be produced is the ASH. How much ash can we use....not much. So there will be a surplus of garbage ash which will not be use for anything.

Incinerator(s) is OK if you are short of ideas, but there are other ways to solve the waste problems.

With the advancement of technology there are already some brighter methods of solving the waste management. In the developed countries the way that simplifies things is that it becomes the norm for EVERYBODY to deposit their waste in separate bins and containers. It is easier as the society is "programmed" to do so. Glasses with glasses. Paper with paper. Plastic with plastics and so forth.

There is a method where papers are recycled and making them into finished products like composite wood or even bricks. It can be economical if done on large scale.

There is also a Malaysian technology that converts plastic bags and plastic wrappers into high grade DIESEL that can be used directly or even traded in the international market for a better price as it was analyzed to be better than Euro 4 and have even surpass the standards set for Euro 5.

The construction industry waste could even be recycled to make into building material. Depending on the density of the final product it can even be used as wall bricks to withstand some armor piercing shells of certain caliber. Such premise that use them would be important building such as Government buildings, Residences of VVIP, Ministry of Defence, armory bunkers and the likes.

Again these technologies are available now. Some of these technologies are home grown but somehow or other don't seem to be on the radar screen of any Ministry. For example the plastic to diesel project....this is a real WHOPPER. Since the production plant is in Perlis it would really give Perlis an image booster. Not only that....also the name of Malaysia.

WHY ?

Because it is the only one in this region and Malaysia has it. The beauty is that it is designed by Malaysian and the catalyst that is being used in the whole process is being manufactured locally by Malaysians. There are other countries such as Germany and Korea that has got similar machines but the difference is in the different type of catalyst being used. Greater detail of the PLASTIC TO DIESEL PROJECT can be discussed later.

All over the world....plastic is a big problem. There is no one country that can say that they don't have any problem with plastics. Otherwise how come there are NO PLASTIC DAYS, some even have a ban on plastics. All these ban and partial ban is because people recognize that plastic is a big problem.
PLASTIC IS A PROBLEM WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM....

But now we have the solution on how to convert plastic bags and wrappers into high grade diesel....so it is no longer a big problem. Plus the diesel can be used for power generation, transportation, farming and many more usage. This should be the direction of how and what to do with the plastics because plastic if dumped into the landfill will not decompose and if burned may produce noxious gases. We have got the think positively.

UNTIL THE NEXT TIME.....

AGRICULTURAL LAND - TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL

At the time of writing this blog....it is also the season of the Haj.
Insyaallah my wife and I will also be heading to Mekah to perform our Haj too in a few days time.
For all Muslim...this is one of the epic moments of our life that needs to be fulfilled.
Some who can afford will be able to do so with a minimum of fuss (albeit that he be INVITED by ALLAH).
Cost of performing Haj has increased many folds over the years so it is further expected that the cost to do the Haj will even be more costlier.
What will happen to the poorer people. What will happen to the farmers with meager earnings every year. To them to perform the Haj is one of the primary tenets of their life. Whatever may happen they MUST perform the Haj....even if they have to sell their land. This is the simple thoughts of the man in the field.

The question is who will they sell it to ?
Can another Malay buy the land from him ?
Is it a fair price that he will get in order for him to go to Mekah ?
When he comes back from Haj....what will be of him ?
Land has been sold, money is gone !!!
Will he be another piece of data in the subsidy line ?

In my earlier blog I mentioned about having an entity of land bank in the form of a company or a cooperative or the likes.
This is where the farmer will have a share in the entity, equitable to the size of his land in the whole setup.
If the farmer needs the money to perform the Haj for example....he can pledge his portion of the land to Agro Bank and the land will be in the hands of the bank. The farmer can perform the Haj and come back after the Haj and the land is still his only that it is being held and lodge with the bank. The yield and the income derived from the business from the land will be diverted to his account with the bank to repay his Haj loan. After covering all the loan the title of the land will be return to the rightful owner but in trust still with the company/cooperative (being the entity).

In this way the farmer will return home knowing that he still own the land. And he have the opportunity to pay back from the returns derived from the crop yield.
This is also the way to save the land from changing hands and more important that the land remains to be cultivated.

LAND IS A PROBLEM.....WHAT CAN BE DONE !!!

Land so they say is an asset of the family.
The question is....is it ?
Look at the situation nowadays....
Gone are the days or the days are numbered when a father would keep the land for his children and grandchildren to live on and to work on.
Today...when asked the question of what are they going to do with the land ? Fathers would prefer to develop the land and get the money while they are still alive to enjoy the fruits of their toil.

That is from one angle.

From the other angle...you would have a totally different picture where the father keeps the land for the children and grandchildren and so forth. This is well and good.

However with the Muslim law in place, it also says that when the parents is no longer around, the properties or assets would be divided using the law of Fara'id. Thus making the land divisible according to the said law. This is being fair to all parties concern. However this division of land will keep on going to be pass down to the respective offsprings for generations to come. So what will happen ?

What will happen is that as the years go by, the land will be divided between families and sub-families till it becomes uneconomical for the land to be worked on or to be toiled. Thus we will be creating millions of hectares of land that is not being used (in Bahasa Malaysia we call it TANAH TERBIAR). These land are not land that is sub-quality soil or land that is too steep but good land which people just don't do any work on the land maybe because it is too small to be economical to work on, or there are family disputes that won't allow the kins to work on his land.

This is a loss in opportunity in agricultural production both for the family and for the nation.

THIS IS A TIME OF THINKING OUT OF THE BOX.....

In the rural areas, the land owners are predominantly Malays and they are mostly farmers.
Life is not getting any easier for everybody....let alone the farmers.
As the family numbers multiplies and the parents are no longer around....the land will be downsized for each of the subsequent new " landlords "....
How will they survive with all the rising cost of living.
Essential goods and consumables are not getting any cheaper as days go by...HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE ???

THIS IS THE TIME TO BE NON-CONVENTIONAL
and having
THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO SO

1) After 53 years of independence the nation has prospered under the same Government but what have we done to protect the farmers ? Is giving the fertilizer subsidy helping ? Is giving the diesel subsidy helping ?
To me the answer is not really as we do not really have a program for the farmers to be self reliant and self sustaining.
2) Is it not right now for the Government to seriously look into the program of LAND REFORMATION ???
3) If we don't address this situation now....we will by the end of each year have an increase of more and more unused and uncultivated land (TANAH TERBIAR).
4) However since this involves a policy involving the whole country....it will have to go through a lengthy process of going through the Parliament to be gazetted. Even though it is a lengthy process it still must start somewhere to get it going for the sake of the farming community in general.
5) As an example, all land gazetted as "important" farming land will be registered with Agriculture/Land Office to amalgamate them as individual parcel entities and land owners will own a share of the entity (company/cooperative).
6) The said entity will be managed by knowledgable and professional personals to make the project a success. Land owners or their children may work for the entity if found suitable for that purpose. Otherwise they can find other alternative jobs or create a new job for himself with whatever skills they have or will acquire.

The situation today is that there is a sense of false hope by the youth in the rural areas. Their father have the land.....but how much ? And upon the demise of the parents how many square feet of the land will actually belong to each individual ???

The wants of the youth today is no different then everybody else, nice clothes, nice motorbike or a car if possible, nice wife, nice house, having extras to continue enjoying.
But is this possible if they live in this dream and false hope.
Is this possible if the Government don't interfere in such matters as the LAND REFORMATION.

DRASTIC as it may seem but we have to think of the future of the agrarian society and the Malays in general.

In this way....the land will still belong to the "FAMILY" and the whole family will benefit for years to come PLUS the land will be economically cultivated for food production.

While in Melbourne with students....

>Subject: SHORT SPEECH AT KUAM FUNCTION ON 1ST OCTOBER 2010 
>
> 
> With regards to the very short speech that I delivered at the KUAM function in Melbourne University as a supporting actor to Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad following are the main points :-
> 
> 1) The National Integration Program or what is now known as the "1 Malaysia" program has actually been in existence long before 2009. The foundation of unity, racial integration and harmony has been laid down starting by Tengku Abdul Rahman and the subsequent Prime Ministers. But what Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib did was to emphasize the importance of national stability, harmony and racial integration and understanding.
> 
> 2) In a live TV program called FAST FORWARD.....a question was asked "Why is there a need to have many programs to get racial integration in the right direction" ? My answer is that....when I was young the kids have no care for anything but to have fun. Students were able to share the same room without much question. But now things changed....WHY. So if today we are talking in this program called FAST FORWARD.....maybe what we should do is to try to learn what was right then in those years....maybe we should have another program called FAST REVERSE so that we can learn what we did then that was right....and repeat.
> 
> 3) Who is at fault if we are in this situation ? The answer is simple....WE (THE PARENTS) ARE AT FAULT because we allowed the situation to be what it is today.
> 
> 4) At what point did we learn to harbour the various discontents ?
> 
> 5) Because if we go to any pediatric department of any hospital...you wouldn't be able to differentiate by the cry the baby gives out. You wouldn't know whether the cry is from a Chinese baby or a Malay baby or from an Indian baby or a Khadazan born or whatever. A baby's cry is an innocent cry with no animosity to it.
> 
> 6) To end any race....we still got to start with the first step and the next and the next till we finish the race. We as individuals don't have to wait for others to start the 1-Malaysia program. Why must we wait....we have to be the proactive citizen. We have to be the starter....we have to be more understanding, more tolerant with others especially so when we are a multiracial and multi-religious country.
> 
> I believe that the 1-Malaysia program is not just any program from the mill but a program for unity, stability, harmony which will in turn lead to a vibrant growing Malaysia which is what ALL Malaysians want. A place where everyone is tolerant and where there is hope and future in economic stability and success.
> 
> 

WHEN IN MELBOURNE - Sept / Oct 2010

When I was in Melbourne late September 2010 to attend a student function to have Tun Dr Mahathir as a guest speaker...everybody seems excited to see and hear Tun in person. However, Tun was not well and had to rest. The point here is...Tun kept his promise to go to Melbourne to address the students and the public as that program was open to all.


As mentioned, Tun was not well and was advised to take a rest. Tun none-the-less requested that Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad gave the talk instead of Tun himself. Tok Pa did a good job in approaching the issues of developments in Malaysia, the 1-Malaysia concept as well as current economic issues.


There were many questions that had to be answered by Tok Pa and he did well. What was annoying was a TV reporter who kept disturbing the sequence of Tok Pa's answers as he was trying to make Tok Pa make a mistake in his answers as it was recorded on the tape.


I was also given the opportunity to say a few words to the students. And I continued on why I believe in the 1-Malaysia concept and why we should support that concept. I shall elaborate on what I said in my future blog statement.


Oh Yes....I almost forgot. I met YB Lim Kit Siang the opposition Member of Parliament in a famous Pancake Restaurant with his grand-daughter and he wrote in his blog that he met me but....much to my disappointment he mentioned the current Member of Parliament for Arau and not my name (be the immediate past Member of Parliament for Arau). What a disappointment...because I thought that he really know me and my name. Maybe its because I am not as famous as he is.