Selangor scraps Bukit Tagar pig farming plans

2026-01-26 - 07:14

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said the state government is aware of strong opposition to its plans to centralise the state’s pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor. PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government has cancelled its plans to centralise the state’s pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar, Hulu Selangor, following advice from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Menteri besar Amirudin Shari said the decision was made by the Selangor state executive council last week after state infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim reported strong opposition to the project. “Actually, even before the prime minister advised us to cancel the project, the state executive council had already instructed us to look for an alternative site because of strong opposition to Bukit Tagar,” he was reported as saying by Berita Harian. Acknowledging public debate around the state’s proposal to centralise its pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar, Amirudin said the state government would not inform the public about any potential alternative locations until a decision is made. “Nothing had been formally submitted yet (regarding Bukit Tagar), but it appeared as if we were ready to start construction,” he said. “Perhaps some details were made public too early (and) we should have engaged with operators first. “That’s alright. We have learnt from this.” Last Friday, Anwar called on the Selangor government to cancel its plans to centralise the state’s pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar and consider a “more appropriate location” for the initiative, citing environmental concerns and public unease in the area. Earlier this month, Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said he disagreed with the state government’s plans to centralise its pig farming industry in Bukit Tagar. While he acknowledged the need for the small-scale, controlled farming of pigs to meet the needs of non-Muslims in Selangor, he said large-scale farming was unnecessary and insensitive given the fact that Muslims make up the majority of the state’s population. Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu previously said the federal government had no objections to the plans, provided that the area was deemed suitable from both an environmental and management perspective.