IPOH: About 70 growers of the popular Tambun pomelo are a step closer to getting titles to the land they and their forefathers have toiled on for the past 40 years.
They are expected to get 99-year lease letters for their orchards from the Perak government today.
Tambun Pomelo Growers Association secretary Chin Too Kam said the group was thankful to Mentri Besar Dr Zambry Abd Kadir for making good the promise he made during his visit to their orchards in January.
Chin, 67, a second generation pomelo grower, expressed his gratitude to Tambun MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Hulu Kinta assemblyman Datuk Rosnah Kassim and state executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon for their assistance over the years.
He said the group’s struggle for land titles to their 46ha orchard had been riddled with false hopes and disappointment in the last 20 years.
“We hope the other 70 to 80 farmers in the area who have yet to get their land titles will also receive similar good news soon,” he said.
A 56.5ha land area occupied by the remaining farmers, he said, was alienated to a developer sometime between 1993 and 1994 and the farmers had been applying for the titles since 1991.
“Pomelo growers have only this area. The land here is suitable and fertile for growing pomeloes. Houses can be built anywhere,” Chin said, adding that some 500 people would be left homeless and with no livelihood if they were chased out of the area.
Even if they were to start over, he said it would take at least three years for the new trees to bear fruits.
Chin also urged the state government to promote the pomelo orchards in Tambun and Ampang as a tourist destination. His orchard received 20,000 visitors last year.
