SHAH ALAM: A young man who spoke up on farmers’ problems in his village has been hauled to court by their assemblyman A. Sivanesan.

Poh Wai Sheng, 23, a farmer himself, was named the first of four defendants in a defamation suit filed by Sivanesan, also the Sungkai assemblyman and Perak state executive councillor.

The farmers from Kampung Baru Kuala Bikam are facing eviction to make way for sand mining.

Poh is represented by MCA’s Civil Society Movement Bureau. Its chairman Ng Kian Nam said the case will be handled on a pro-bono basis.

The sand mining company had been given the green light to carry out their activities there by the Perak state government.

The plaintiff: Sivanesan.

This resulted in the farmers, who had been toiling the land for over three decades, to lose their main source of income.

“The plaintiff is demanding compensation for various forms of damages,” Ng said after attending the case management hearing at the Shah Alam court here yesterday.

Yang Wu Li, a villager, said the farmers were shocked that their assemblyman had initiated legal action against them.

Sivanesan has also named journalist Foong Pek Yee, Star Media Group Bhd and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong as co-defendants in the suit.