The Malaysian Insight

IN September 1998, Malaysia was struck by the Nipah Virus, which was first detected in pigs in Perak. 

Within six months, the disease had spread to Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Johor, and Malacca.

Before the disease could be controlled, 256 people were infected, and 105 died from the disease.

The government ordered cull of millions of pigs to prevent the spread of the disease, which brought the local economies of Bukit Pelanduk and Sungai Nipah to their knees as pig farming was huge there. The industry has never recovered.

Pig farmers in Negri Sembilan’s Bukit Pelanduk and Sungai Nipah, which the virus is named after;in Selangor’s Sepang and Semenyih; and Perak say they will never forget the squeals when army and Health Ministry personnel descended on their villages to cull millions of beasts to prevent the virus from spreading.

Pig farmer Chan Dek Shun from Tanjong Sepat said his family fell upon hard times after the culling.

Chan said Tanjong Sepat was not too badly affected by the virus, but the local economy collapsed as the farmers could no longer sell their livestock.

He continued to rear pigs after the disease was declared under control, but was extra careful, feeding his animals at least once a day and closely monitored them.

“I only know how to rear pigs, I have no knowledge of other trades. Those days were hard for my family and we were lucky that my younger brother helped so we could survive. It was only about half a year after the outbreak that people dared to eat pork again, and the industry slowly recovered,” said Chan.

“So, we slowly went back to rearing pigs again. The banks offered low-interest loans for pig farmers, so I applied for RM200,000,” he said.

Unlike Chan, Leong Yau Foo, a pig farmer from Tanjong Sepat, was fortunate that none of his 2,000 pigs were culled during the outbreak. But fear of the disease led to a low demand for pork, and he fell deep into debt.

“It was an anxious time for me; farms nearby all had their pigs culled, and there were frequent blood tests to make sure that the animals were not infected.

“They had to check the people too, and all the while, farms were shut down.

“You cannot move the pigs for fear of spreading the disease, and every day, pig farmers would clean the pig pens. I could only feed the pigs once a day and we decided not to sell any of them at that time,” said Leong.

When consumers began buying pork again after about six months, Leong used his profit to pay off his debts.

Today, 20 years after the Nipah virus outbreak, Leong said the industry is in its last throes. He said many pig farmers are now in their 50s and their children, including his own, are unwilling to take over, leaving traditional farmers unable to compete with big companies.

Pig farmer Woo Dao Li and his wife Kor Mei Yin, both 46, lived in Tanah Mareh’s C village, just 12km from the epicentre of the outbreak. All 2,000 of Woo’s pigs were culled.

Kor said police enforced a quarantine after people died from the Nipah virus. She moved back to Johor with her 1-year-old child to stay with her mother, leaving Woo to manage the empty farm alone.

“We didn’t calculate how much we’ve lost. The government compensated us RM120 per pig, but the price at that time was between RM200 and RM300 per pig and it wasn’t enough,” she said.

Woo worked various odd jobs after his pigs were culled, including in an oil palm plantation, in construction, at a watermelon plantation, and also reared fish. Now, his former pig farm is used to rear bullfrogs for food.

“Frogs don’t fetch a good price, not many will buy because not a lot of people eat frogs. At this age, we can’t find jobs, and we can only make do with what we have,” he said.

Modernising pig farming

Even though the virus had almost destroyed the pig farming industry, Animal Farming Sdn Bhd general manager Yong Sheng Qiao, his brother Sheng Foo and their family had managed to re-establish themselves even after all of their family’s pigs were culled.

“The Negri Sembilan government had imposed a ban on pig farming. Our pigs were fine but they were culled too. There was compensation, but it wasn’t much.”

The two brothers decided early on that they would not give up on their business, moved to Perak.

Now, the industry is dominated by a few major companies that are modernising the industry by researching how to rear pigs better.

With a focus on cleanliness and using only the best feed, plus having high amounts of Omega 3 acid in pork, researchers have managed to produce meat that is nutritious and can help with high cholesterol, diabetes, and certain allergies.

Sheng Qiao said they avoid middlemen and do everything, from packaging, rearing, butchering, research, logistics, sales and customer service, in-house. This keeps the pork fresh by cutting down the time it takes for the products to reach the market after the slaughter of an animal.

After many years in the industry, they are now rearing 60,000 pigs, enough to meet domestic demand.

“After the Nipah outbreak, we understood the need for vaccination,” said Sheng Qiao.

“Pig farming is the only livestock rearing that does not receive government money or assistance of any sort. Farmers have to rely on themselves, especially when it comes to setting up guidelines,” he said.