Massive demolition job in Camerons

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: A total of 18.4ha of illegal farms planted with flowers, vegetables and fruits worth millions of ringgit were destroyed in a National Security Council operation code named "Ops Gading 2" in Blue Valley, Tringkap and Kampung Raja in Cameron Highlands today.
The operation also saw various structures at the farms being demolished.
The landowners stood in dismay and were helpless as they watched their months of hard labour destroyed.
The operation involved 523 personnel from 16 government agencies led by the Civil Defence Department, police, army, Rela, officers and staff from the district land office, department of environment, forestry department and MACC.
The owners have been doing their business on the land, located about 2km up on a hill which is only accessible by four-wheelers, for almost a year.
Operations commander ACP Mohd Shahruddin Baharom, who was seen talking to two landowners, said: "The men had approached us when we moved in ... but we have no authority to stop the demolition work as it was directed by higher authorities."
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Cabinet had issued a directive to clear all illegal farms in the highland resort, widely believed to be the cause of land and mudslides.
Mohd Shahruddin said the farm owners should discuss with relevant authorities on future demolition and clearance work.
"We have no powers to negotiate with them. We carry out the task entrusted to us and will stop if directed otherwise. They should have cleared the farms and demolished the structures themselves when the announcement was made."
In "Ops Gading 1" which began on Dec 4, a total of 16.8 ha of crops were cleared.
In today's operation, vegetables and fruits covering 2.8ha in Tringkap and 3.6ha in Kampung Raja, were also destroyed.
According to Mohd Shahruddin, who is also the Deputy Director of the National Operations Centre, the second phase of the operation would be carried out for a week based on the availability of machinery and weather conditions.
The team is targeting a 20ha site in the next operation.