FAMA denies foreigners given trading lots at Terengganu farmers’ markets

The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) in Terengganu has dismissed allegations that foreigners, including Rohingya, were granted trading lots at farmers' markets under its control. This denial came after a viral image circulated on social media depicting a man thought to be a foreigner selling vegetables at a market in Besut.

The FAMA Terengganu investigation revealed that the market featured in the photograph was a morning market in Kuala Besut run by another government agency, not a FAMA-operated farmers' market. State FAMA director Muhamad Fadlee Hassan announced that the agency had cautioned its traders against transferring their permits to foreigners or permitting them to operate stalls.

Violation of this policy would result in the immediate cancellation of the business permit. FAMA currently oversees only two farmers' markets in Besut: Pasar Tani Jertih, which operates every Thursday, and Pasar Tani Alor Lintang, held every Saturday. According to Muhamad Fadlee, the man selling vegetables in the viral image was not present at a FAMA-managed farmers' market but at a morning market run by another government body.

FAMA Terengganu reiterated in a statement that no non-Malaysian individuals had been designated as participants at farmers' markets under its jurisdiction in the state.