Do Pigs Fly?

Somehow Malaysians will always get worked up when it comes to pigs. Yes, pigs...those ugly creatures which some Malaysians consumed and others abhorred. Over the years pigs have been at the centre of some major controversies and tragedies in Malaysia. Remember the Nipah ( virus outbreak which wiped out the pig rearing industry in Bukit Pelanduk? or the 'standoff' in Paya Rumput, Malacca? Well our piggy friends have done it again. This time in Selangor where a centralised pig farming project is to be built. Eversince the state government announced the resumption of the centralised pig farming project on 9 April 2008 , the Malaysian media has not stopped publishing news about it. And true enough all the age-old issues about pigs have cropped-up again. Filthy, polluting, smelly, disease vector and so on. All of which make piggeries even modern, environmentally friendly ones NIMBYs (not-in-my-backyard) for many communities.

Truth be told, in the case of the nipah virus outbreak, the pigs weren't entirely to

blame. There were also the bats and mosquitoes who contributed to the outbreak which caused 105 deaths and the culling of more than a million pigs. The Discovery Channel is currently showing repeats of its documentary titled 'Killer Pigs' which traces the origin of the nipah virus and analyses the steps taken to control its outbreak. TV3 also reported on the recognition given to the Malaysian researchers involved, one of whom is an ameteur virologist. I'm no pig-apologist but maybe it's time we get rid of our pig hang-ups and accept these guys as part and parcel of the Malaysian life and give these poor guys a break. Don't we all love Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show? or the Bearded Pig of Borneo (Sus barbatus)? Afterall the only thing they are guilty of is being pigs. Really, I jest. If indeed we are going to move forward and resolve the issues related to the 870 piggeries and their 1.8 million pigs in the country as reported by Berita Minggu some bold measures need to be considered. There are many technologies available to clean-up piggery operations (see http://www.thepigsite.com/ for more information). Only the political will is lacking.

So back to the question. Do pigs fly? Yes. But only in Malaysian politics.Why not give the centralised pig farm project a chance to succeed. Just don't do it in my backyard......