CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Ops Lestari 2, an ongoing operation to demolish illegal vegetable farms and structures in Kuala Terla, here, will continue until Jan 3, 2020.
The operation is being jointly carried out by the Cameron Highlands Land and District Office and the National Security Council.
Controversy has surrounded the operation, as about 200 people protested against the exercise on Monday.
The demonstrators were dispersed, and seven men, including former Padang Serai Member of Parliament N. Gobalakrishnan were arrested.
They were all released on police bail on the same day.
District police chief Deputy Superintendent Ashari Abu Samah said that no untoward incident occurred during the operation today.
"The operation will continue until Jan 3, next year. However, no operation will be carried out tomorrow (Christmas). We will be back on Thursday (Dec 26)," he said when contacted today.
On Tuesday, policemen were deployed to provide security for officers demolishing the illegal farms and structures located on 97.12 hectares of land belonging to 60 owners, mostly in Sungai Ichat.
The protesters claim that farming is the only source of income for the 60 families who have been working on the land for three generations.
During a visit on Sept 7, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had called for an immediate stop to illegal encroachment into the Kuala Terla water catchment area, especially near the intake point of the Sungai Ichat dam in the Ulu Ternom sub-district.
Keywords: Ops Lestari, Kuala Terla, illegal farms, demolish, Cameron Highlands, protests, Sungai Ichat, farmers, Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah