Thursday, November 17th, 2011 10:27:00
In a reply to Gan Pei Nei (PKR-Rawang), Selangor executive councillor for local government, studies and research Ronnie Liu said the State government was in the final stages of drafting a standard set of guidelines for the industry.
He said this was necessary due to the "vague" guidelines under the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
"For example, the Federal government's guidelines stipulate swiftlet farms can be set up in cities but not city centres," he said during the State assembly sitting.
"It is difficult for the local councils to identify where exactly the city centre is."
Swiftlet farming is also allowed in agriculture areas but Liu said this was a problem in areas like Sekinchan, considered to be the rice bowl of Selangor.
"If we were to allow swiftlet farming near paddy fields, then the production of rice would be affected," he said.
He said only five local councils have licensed swiflet farms to operate under their jurisdiction. These are Selayang, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Langat and Sabak Bernam.
Liu said from 2009, the farms in these five local councils recorded about RM433,000 in revenue.
He said currently, local councils issue temporary licenses for swiftlet farms to operate and handle complaints from the public while the Selangor Veterinary Services Department oversees the technical aspects of the industry.
Swiftlet farming produces birds nest, a lucrative business that has the potential to generate up to millions of ringgit in profit.
However, some operators who carry out the business at shophouses in small towns incur the wrath of residents due to the noise and unhygienic conditions.
Liu said it was not easy for the Selangor government to clamp down on such operators.
"Some have been conducting their business even before we (Pakatan Rakyat) took over the State," he said.
Source : MMAIL
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