Belum-Temenggor can become a world-class attraction?

This is the same MB that said that logging will continue (read 2nd article below). So which is correct? Politicians seem to have forked tongues. Probably has another motive to follow Kenyir Lake's duty free island!

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October 21, 2011
Zambry: Belum-Temenggor can become a world-class attraction
Star

IPOH: The Belum-Temenggor tropical rainforest has the potential to become a world-class attraction, said Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

He said this when revealing that an integrated master plan (IMP) for the 300,000ha land is expected to be ready within the next few months.

“The master plan should be ready by the end of the year or at the latest in early 2012,” he told reporters after chairing the weekly state exco meeting here yesterday.

The rainforest, which is over 130 million years old, covers the Royal Belum State Park (117,500ha), Gerik Forest Reserve (34,995ha) and Temenggor Forest Reserve (147,505ha).

“With the vast tropical rainforest in the area and a few other places at the Tasik Banding site, it has the potential to become a world attraction,” said Dr Zambry.

The proposed master plan comprises aspects that include conservation efforts, tourism development and recommended action against poaching and logging activities and problems affecting the timber industry.

The mentri besar said to date the state government and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) had completed about 60% of the proposed IMP.

“The state is being briefed on the progress of the proposed IMP by consultants from the NCIA from time to time,” he said, adding that input was also received from related non-governmental organisations.

“In other words, the proposal has been analysed from various aspects and perspectives, be it in terms of conservation or the income to be derived by the state in the future,” he said.

Dr Zambry said several other nature-centric development projects had been identified in the area.

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September 20, 2011
Be reasonable with demands to gazette forests, says MB
Star

IPOH: Environmental and wildlife groups should be more objective when demanding that forested areas in the state be gazetted as non-logging areas, said Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

He said despite the state government having gazetted an area about five times the size of Singapore in Royal Belum as a state park, such groups were demanding more.

“Are they asking for the whole of Perak to be gazetted? After the Royal Belum, they now want us to gazette the whole of Temengor Forest Reserve.

“Later, they may also request forested areas in Pangkor to be gazetted.

“Let us be objective. Logging cannot be stopped completely because timber is one of the major industries which generate revenue for the state,” he told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Shigeru Nakamura at his office here yesterday.

Dr Zambry was commenting on calls by such groups for forests along the Gerik-Jeli highway to be gazetted as part of the Royal Belum or a forest reserve to ensure the long-term survival of wildlife.

He said economic progress would be hindered if the state government were to fulfil all their demands.

Dr Zambry said Perak was among the few states that had a sustainable forest management concept.

“While allowing logging activities, we are also serious about protecting the state’s rainforests,” he stressed.

On the forest clearing activities in the Belum-Temengor wildlife corridor, Dr Zambry said he would wait for an in-depth probe to be completed first.

”We also want to know the actual situation and if the report is accurate,” he said.

State sanctioned animal mistreatment in Zambry's Perak

06 October 2011
Written by Mariam Mokhtar,
Malaysia Chronicle

It is outrageous that animals are being neglected by the MBI (Ipoh City Council or Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh).

Despite the public condemnation which it received last year, MBI continues the callous, indiscriminate shooting of dogs including pets, and has still not learned its lesson.

In October 2010, the MBI made headline news for shooting a therapy dog and long term companion of a 75 year old lady. This lady was about to exercise her dog, when she popped into her house to retrieve something she had forgotten.

When she returned after being away for a few minutes, her dog Spunk, was nowhere to be found; after much searching, she found his body. Spunk had been shot by dog shooters who did not even bother to check if the animal had a license on its collar.

The aftermath of this killing was that an immediate ban was placed on the shooting of dogs.

This was rescinded in March 2011 when the Ipoh Mayor, Roshidi Hashim admitted that his enforcement team had shot at dogs in Ipoh, because nurses coming off-duty at one of the private hospitals had complained about dogs barking.

Roshidi approved the shooting because the MBI had an ‘option to shoot’ dogs, in its local by-laws.

Filthy and neglected

However, during my visit to the Gunung Lang recreational park just off the Kuala Kangsar Road in Ipoh, on 24 September 2011, I discovered that dogs are not the only animals to suffer cruelty at the hands of the MBI.

The park at Gunung Lang is only accessible by boat. The place looks idyllic but on closer inspection, it has an air of disarray and neglect. At one time, this Gunung Lang park must have been a gem and a welcome green lung for Ipoh.

The park keeps animals in cages or fenced off enclosures. Many of these animals looked diseased and unhealthy. Their fur had no shine and the animals were filthy, and looked neglected.

One rabbit in the cage close to the jetty, looked as though its nose was about to drop off. Bits of its skin were bare of fur and the cage was littered with rabbit pellets and looked like it was rarely cleaned.

In the far-side of the park, several caged enclosures looked like they needed repair and there was no information about any of the animals or birds which they housed. Many of the cages were empty or had broken fencing. Equipment which needed repair and metal containers with sharp projections, were dumped in these cages.

The ostriches at Gunung Lang, did not look at all happy, nor healthy. Their feathers were sparse and unhealthy, their eyes dull. They were severely dehydrated and there was no water supply. One trough, which should have had water in it, had been removed from its frame, whilst another had only a small amount of brackish water.

Some deer were housed with the ostriches. They also looked unhealthy. They were lethargic and didn’t come to investigate us, as normal healthy animals would. They appeared to be dehydrated and were lying or standing on waterlogged ground. It looked like some of the deer were eating their faeces. Isn’t this a sign of boredom, stress, a lack of minerals in their diet or perhaps, malnutrition?

Other cages housed guinea fowl and turkeys. These birds also looked unhealthy.

Why has the mayor allowed such terrible practices to continue? Is he not ashamed that with Visit Perak Year (VPY) 2012 just around the corner, Malaysia’s reputation as a nation which ill-treats its animals will be highlighted by the foreigner?

As a local, many of us find that our complaints fall on deaf ears and that action is only taken by the authorities, when a foreign tourist makes a big issue of it.

If the MBI cannot properly manage these bird and animals, and if MBI cannot pay for the regular services of a vet, then these animals and birds should be put down to end their suffering.

Jokers in charge

Those in charge of tourism in Perak are excited about VPY 2012. However, these people have their priorities confused. They must realise that tourism is not just about an increase in the number of hotel rooms, or of places to eat.

Tourism is also about health, hygiene and human considerations towards animal welfare.

What good is an eatery if we have no clue about keeping out streets, toilets, kitchens and drains clean? Several people complain of irregular rubbish collections, drains which remain clogged and restaurants where the rodents are as large as domestic cats.

What is the point of a recreational park, which is covered in litter and broken amenities? Why should we have caged animals if we won’t care for them? Tourists will not be impressed by a park in which animals are suffering a slow and lingering death.

The MBI, the Ipoh mayor, the tourism department of Perak and the state executive councilor for Perak tourism, Hamidah Othman, must realise that VPY 2012 should be more than just restaurants, hotel rooms and a fancy launch for the VPY 2012 logo. A successful VPY must also include animal welfare.

Both Roshidi and Hamidah should investigate why animals kept in cages and enclosures in the Gunung Lang recreational park are kept in terrible conditions and they must do something about it. It should not be up to members of the public to continually catch the MBI with its pants down.

Malaysia Chronicle

In Bolehland, macam-macam idiot ada

There must be some hidden connections. First, raintrees are not indigenous species. Trek into any jungle in Malaysia, you do not see any raintree growing wild. Raintrees are imported species. And why do you think these creatures called spending-spree-politicians so happy to insure these trees when even the Temenggor Forest Reserves with huge trees that support the natural ecosystem of rare hornbills, wildlife and flora, of heritage values of million years old were not protected? Insure the raintrees? Idiotic thinking, maybe for the benefit of their cronies from the insurance company. And you as the rakyat will have to suffer the consequences of more tax hikes just to fulfill the need of idiotic politicians. If you value trees, then declare the Belum-Temengor enclaves as a permanent protected areas. Don't you think there are more "social values" in the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex? Only an idiot or a corrupt person would insured a few trees but chopped a whole jungle of heritage cum indigenous trees. In Bolehland, macam-macam idiot ada!

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December 14, 2010
Four raintrees valued RM1mil each to be insured by City Council
By SYLVIA LOOI
Star

IPOH: Four raintrees here will be insured by the City Council – a first in Malaysia – after they were found to be worth about RM1mil each.

Datuk Bandar Datuk Roshidi Hashim said the value of the trees was determined under the Thyre Tree Valuation, developed by Australian Peter Thyre in 1984.

The factors which determine the value of a tree are its quality, aesthetics and people’s view about it. Its “social value” is also taken into consideration. The trees must also be at least 50 years old and of a certain diameter.

The four raintrees to be insured are at least five-storeys high with a diameter of at least 20m.

“Three are located in D.R. Seenivasagam Park and the other at Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (Tiger Lane),” Roshidi said yesterday.

The trees will be insured once they are gazetted next year.

After chairing the council’s full board meeting, Roshidi said the council had conducted a study on 300 trees along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Jalan Datuk Onn Jaffar, D.R. Seenivasagam Park, Ipoh Garden and Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab.

Roshidi said the purpose of insuring the trees was to prevent people indiscriminately cutting them.

“It is also to protect the council against public liability claims in case these trees fall on people,” he said.

Roshidi said the study also found over 30 trees to be dangerous and he had instructed them to be removed.

“But rest assured, new trees will be planted to replace those that were chopped down,” he added.


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December 14, 2010
Ipoh Mayor cannot see the wood for the trees
Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

In a pioneering move in Malaysia, Ipoh’s Mayor, Roshidi Hashim announced that four raintrees in the city would be insured by the City Council because they were believed to be worth about RM1mil each. He hoped to gazette and insure 291 trees valued between RM5,000 and RM1.3 million.

“Three are located in D.R. Seenivasagam Park and the other at Tiger Lane (Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah),” said Roshidi.

Roshidi said the value of the trees was determined under the Thyre Tree Valuation, developed by an Australian, Peter Thyre in 1984.

Roshidi stated that the purpose of insuring the trees was to prevent people indiscriminately cutting them.

His remarks will invite ridicule.

The bitter experience of the Ipoh public is that the only people who indiscriminately cut the trees are those who have been sent by the Ipoh City Council to remove them. Trees are usually chopped down without warning.

“We hope to gazette the trees by next year and we will also propose for enactment legislation to be drafted to ensure strict action is taken against anyone who purposefully harms or destroys the trees,” said Roshidi.

“At the moment, those who vandalise trees or chop them down are punishable under Act 172 of the Tree Preservation Order. It is also to protect the council against public liability claims in case these trees fall on people,” he said.

Roshidi said the study also found over 30 trees to be dangerous and he had instructed them to be removed.

“But rest assured, new trees will be planted to replace those that were chopped down,” he added.

Ipohites have ‘lost’ hundreds of trees which once graced the city for decades. Again, Ipohites know only too well that these beautiful trees, mostly tropical flowering trees, are replaced with nondescript palms usually the ‘Royal Palm’.

When asked for an explanation, the usual Ipoh City Council responses following a tree’s removal, are a combination of the following – “don’t know”, “only following orders”, “the rotting tree is a danger to the public”, “palm trees like those in the Prophet’s holy-land are preferred”. It appears that in Ipoh, even trees can take on a political and religious dimension.

Tree removal is not an Ipoh phenomenon. ‘Tree attacks’ also happen in other cities. The premature removal of trees in Kuala Lumpur happened in the name of progress and development.

No one sought to keep them. And yet, Singapore, a concrete jungle, can keep its trees and is also known as ‘the garden of the east’ with several beautiful trees lining their boulevards.

The trees in Ipoh did not make way for development – they were removed because of ignorance, apathy and an unwillingness to nurture and maintain the trees.

No one in Ipoh City Council or their department of parks and town planning, were willing to adhere to a rigorous maintenance, pruning and horticultural regime. ‘No trees’ meant no additional work.

The shortsightedness of the Ipoh City-Council is that they fail to see that trees can provide employment as well as beautify the city.

The Singaporeans had the good sense to acknowledge the social, communal, environmental and economic benefits of trees. But those in Ipoh City Council were proud that they could protect the general public from falling branches and rotting trunks - only because the safe removal of the trees meant the trees could no longer ‘harm’ the public .

Recently, Putrajaya sent a delegation to Singapore on a two-day study trip so that the Singaporeans could teach us a thing or two on planting and maintaining trees. Most people view such government study tours with skepticism. These so called study trips are usually an excuse for a jolly.

Thankfully, the Ipoh city council has not suggested this wasteful study–tour extravaganza, yet. As it is, the money to pay for the insurance of these trees will be paid for by the taxpayer, when all it needs is common sense to protect them from ‘indiscriminate’ people.

For years, Ipohites have shown appreciation for their trees not just for its beauty and aesthetics, its historical significance but also because of its various functions and how it helped enhance communities. These trees were priceless to us.

It was the Ipoh city council which did not show the same appreciation. It would only show ‘false appreciation’ once the trees were valued at a certain price, like the four raintrees which are valued at over RM1 million each.

The daft and corrupted way our leaders think means that everything has to have a monetary tag before it is treasured.

There is one other tree that the Ipoh City Council and the Perak state government have overlooked. This tree is a tourist attraction and also a shrine. It is located close to the Perak State Assembly and is affectionately called ‘The Tree of Democracy’. Have the authorities placed a value on it?

MB: Perak will not gazette all its forests as non-logging areas

"Every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed" by I. F. Stone

If you want to enter Temengor Forest Reserve where alot of logging is going on, you need a Forestry permit....and that permit takes weeks to process. The ultimate aim is to discourage you from entering. At every entry point, Forestry staffs are there to mann the trucks coming in and out. So tell me, how can illegal logging activities happened? How can ordinary people enter to take pictures when entry permits are so strict? I tend to believe the quote by I.F. Stone above. Do you agree?

What about this valuable gems mine in the Temengor Forest Reserve? Any accounting for mining this valuable gems?

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Sunday September 26, 2010
By ROSHIDI ABU SAMAH
Thestar

IPOH: Perak cannot entertain demands by any party that wants all its forested areas to be gazetted as non-logging areas, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

“Logging cannot be stopped completely because it is one of the major industries in the state,” he told reporters at a Barisan Nasional Hari Raya open house here yesterday.

“We are ready to work with any party to ensure that our forests are not completely destroyed,” he said, adding that it would also work with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in its effort to protect the state’s rainforests.

Dr Zambry said the state government had already gazetted an area about five times the size of Singapore at the Royal Belum rainforest as a state park.

He agreed that the state government needs the support of the MNS and WWF to solve the problem of illegal logging and poaching at Royal Belum and its surrounding areas.

He said the two organisations could help by submitting to the government pictures of illegal logging and poaching activities.

“We will ask the relevant authorities to identify those involved and bring them to justice,” he said.

Kinta Nature Park to be gazetted as wildlife sanctuary

Sept 25, 2009
Star
By FOONG THIM LENG

IPOH: The Perak government will gazette the Kinta Nature Park as a wildlife sanctuary to prevent it from being destroyed by encroachment and illegal activities.

State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Hamidah Osman said gazetting the park would not take much time as the groundwork for it had been prepared when Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali was Perak mentri besar, and there was a file on the proposal in the state Land and Mines office.

“We will have to decide on which agency would manage the park and look into upgrading its facilities before promoting the park for tourism,” she told reporters during an inspection of the park in Batu Gajah after receiving complaints from the Perak branch of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

Accompanying her were MNS Perak branch vice-chairman Lee Ping Kong, council member Tan Chin Tong and ornithologist Lim Kim Chye, who is the MNS Perak Branch Bird Group Coordinator.

“It will be a waste if such a potential tourist attraction like the park is neglected. It is said to be the best place for bird-watching in Malaysia. It is the home to more than 130 species of birds and has the largest heronry in the country on one of its islands,” she said.

It was reported in The Star on Tuesday that the park would will lose the heronry if illegal activities continued there.

Almost 60% of the birds in the park are listed as totally protected or protected under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1976.

A recent check by the MNS revealed that someone had fenced up the whole lake where the heronry, with five breeding species of 2,000 waterbirds, is located, with the intention of starting commercial fish farming.

The MNS had complained that pristine mining pools at the southern end of the park have been taken over by duck farms and that incursions by sand extraction activities have increased.

The lack of a management body had resulted in damage and disrepair to the infrastructure.

The only watchman in the park said he was only there to guard the amenities and was powerless to prevent any form of encroachment.

Hamidah said the park was managed by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan). She expressed disappointment at the amenities in the park having been vandalised and the grass not having been cut for months.

“We will like to park to be managed by the Kampar district office with Perhilitan playing a monitoring role,” she said.

Hamidah also agreed to look into a suggestion by the MNS to let the park be placed under the jurisdiction of the Perak State Parks Corporation.

She said the duck farms operating without permit would have to stop.

Hamidah added that she would talk with the Kampar District Office to stop renewing the permits for sand mining in the park.

On whether the park should be named the Royal Perak Wetlands, as proposed after the it was set up in 2001, Hamidah said the name would need consent from the Perak royal family.

Concern over logging plan

Just when the dust has just settled, another appeared. This time logging in Perak. Another environment concern to people of Perak. Wake up dear Pakatan Government of Perak!

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Concern over logging plan
Tuesday November 11, 2008
By IVAN LOH
Staronline

IPOH: The Perak Environment Asso­ciation has opposed the selection of two forest reserves which were re­­cently opened for tender for logging.

Association president Abdul Rah­man Said Alli said logging in parts of the Pondok Tanjung and Kota Siam forest reserves would have dire consequences to the ecosystem.

According to a notice put up at the state Forestry Department, the two forest reserves were among 28 sites selected for open tender for logging, he said.

“The Pondok Tanjung reserve is a 5,000ha wetland in the Larut Matang and Selama districts that serves as a natural water catchment area for overflowing water from the Bukit Merah reservoir.

“Logging activities will destroy the land there and worsen the flooding problem in Bukit Merah and some areas in the Kerian district,” Abdul Rahman told a press conference here yesterday.

The forest reserve was home to a wide range of protected animal and plant species and was also a popular research site for Universiti Sains Malaysia, he said.

The Kota Siam Forest Reserve in Manjung district would also see the destruction of wildlife habitat if logging were to be conducted there.

“The 300ha forest reserve is like an island surrounded by oil palm estates and other plantations.

“If the wild animals’ habitat is destroyed, they would be forced to intrude into human settlements, cau­sing conflict between them,” he said.

Abdul Rahman pointed out that the Kota Siam reserve was one of the smaller forests gazetted by the Forestry Department and that there were many other more suitable sites for logging.

“We are not against logging and have no problems with the other sites but Pondok Tanjung and Kota Siam should be off the list (of 28 sites for tender),” said Abdul Rahman.

He said the association would write to Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jama­luddin for appropriate action to be taken.

Efforts to get confirmation from the Forestry Department about the matter proved futile.

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EIA wanted on planned logging in Pondok Tanjung

Tuesday November 11, 2008
By RASLAN BAHAROM

Staronline

TAIPING: An environmental impact assessment (EIA) may be sought from the Department of Environment to protect river tributaries in Pondok Tanjung near here from indiscriminate logging activities.

Larut Matang and Selama district officer Datuk Mahmod Morsidi said this was the best option to protect these rivers -- that supply water to the Bukit Merah reservoir -- from active siltation.

He said the fear of active siltation was one of the reasons why no tin mining activities in Pondok Tanjung had been permitted.

Both logging and mining excavation permits had been sought in Pondok Tanjung, he told reporters after launching the national Coastal Rehabilitation Awareness Campaign 2008 at the Kuala Sepetang Eco-education centre near here on Tuesday.

However, following objections from various technical departments, no tin mining activities have been permitted there.

Mahmod said the Perak Government had approved about 600ha of land at three different locations in Pondok Tanjung for group agriculture schemes to provide more income to the local population.

To turn such sites into agriculture plots, trees must be felled, he said.

Mahmod said a choice would have to be made between allowing the three sites to remain as jungles, and allowing logging and converting them into agriculture schemes.

“Perhaps we may disallow jungle clearing activities at the hilly terrain there but allow logging at the lowland,” he said when commenting on an objection raised by the Perak Environment Association on Monday.

The association said that logging activities in Pondok Tanjung, a 5,000ha wetland that serves as a natural water catchment area for overflowing water from the Bukit Merah reservoir, would damage the land and worsen the flooding problem in Bukit Merah and in parts of Kerian district.

Forestry Department director-general Datuk Seri Azahar Muda, who was present at launch, said it was up to the Perak Government to act on the matter as logging activities came under its purview.

Once there is a request for an EIA, the state Forestry Department must study the matter and take into consideration the views of the community, said Azahar.

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Perak offers oil palm firm another site

Thumb Up for the present Perak State Government for being environment friendly. Undoing what the previous State Government did.

Thank you.

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Saturday July 19, 2008
Staronline

THE Perak Government is offering an alternative site to Gopeng Bhd to start its oil palm plantation in order to protect the biodiversity of the Ulu Geroh Forest Re-serve.

State Health, Environment and Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan said the matter was discussed at the state exco meeting on Wednesday.

“We will meet the company to brief the directors,” he said after meeting members of the Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) on Thursday.

On where the alternative site would be, Sivanesan said the state had to cross the first hurdle of getting the company to agree on the land swap, adding that he was seeking the company’s cooperation to suspend work.

The matter was highlighted after some 700 orang asli from the affected settlements of Ulu Kampar, Ulu Geroh, Kampung Serkal and Kampung Empang Besar complained about land clearing work by Gopeng Bhd’s contractor to build a road leading to the plantation.

Last year, Gopeng Bhd was given a six-month concession to clear the area to build the road.

The previous Barisan Nasional state government had alienated 136.72ha of land to the company to cultivate oil palm while 150ha of land had been gazetted as orang asli settlement, Sivanesan said.

He pointed out that the offer of an alternative site to the company was not because the state government was bowing to the demands of the orang asli.

“We are looking at the larger picture, its effects on the nature and environment.

“We need to strike a balance between nature and investments. I will ensure that nature is not stripped. It has to be preserved.

“The state does not even mind looking at compensating Gopeng Bhd for work done by giving a slightly bigger piece of land it now has,” he said.

MNS council member Tan Chin Tong said the society was concerned about the biodiversity at the Sungai Geroh valley which is a catchment area.

Apart from the orang asli, he said, there were three resorts and seven companies operating white water rafting in the forest reserve.

Tan also presented a proposal to gazette Kinta Nature Park, covering 950ha, into a state park.

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Staronline

Friday August 1, 2008
Orang asli score victory in Gopeng

GOPENG: The orang asli of five settlements here scored a victory after Gopeng Bhd accepted the Perak Government’s offer of an alternative site to start its oil palm plantation.

State Health, Environment and Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan said the company agreed that the 136.72ha land in question be returned to the state in exchange for a similar site.

In June, it was reported that Gopeng Bhd’s land-clearing work for a road leading to the site had angered the orang asli from the affected settlements of Ulu Kampar, Ulu Geroh, Kampung Serkal, Ulu Geruntum and Kampung Empang Besar.

“The state has already instructed the Forestry and respective departments to look for an alternative site,” Sivanesan told a press conference here yesterday.

“We consider the matter closed and there won’t be any intrusion or infringement on the rights of the orang asli,” he said.

The orang asli’s spokesman, Bah Azmi Ngah Porgi, said he was moved by the latest turn of events after months of fighting to preserve their land.

“I don’t know what to say. I want to thank the Mentri Besar, Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang and everyone else for understanding our plight,” he said.

Logging in Perak

Logging (Tempoh) from June 08 till Dec 08. Entrance to logging

area at 11.3 km from Grik-Kulim Highway (N5deg 29.236' E101deg 03.886')

Logs and Gunung Kenderong at the background.

Elephant dung just a kilometer from the new highway.

There was so much news on logging in Kedah (read the news below). Penangites are worry too - "Penang fears Kedah logging could jeopardise water supply" (news attached below).

But are you aware that PERAK is also going on a logging spree? How come Penang is not worry that the logging in Perak will affect Penang's water supply too?

Look at the google map and you could see that the streams and rivers from the present logging sites (the area left of Gunung Kenderong and Gunung Kerunai) in Perak empty into Sg Kupang and joining Sg Muda.

The new highway from Kulim to Grik actually cut through pristine jungle. Wildlife are abundant. On one of my camping cum exploring trip, I saw elephants' dungs and foot prints of large animals like deers, wildboars, bears and heard an unconfirm wild cat (tiger?).

This area around the two mountains (which ironically an important limestone outcrops) is also rich in biodivisity. We have seen fireflies at night and rare hornbills eating bayas fruits in the jungle. A scientific expedition could only reveal more flora and fauna in that area.

If you check the map, with the new highway (still not shown in google map yet), the area has been disected into smaller area. And I wonder whether they can sustain the wild elephants and wildlife. It will come a time when conflict of elephants and human will be seen...and that will be very soon if nothing was done to stop the logging.

Are we going to wait till our water supply jeopardised before we take any action? Is our Pakatan Government really care a hoot about our environment? or are they just like Barisan Najis?


----------News on Logging in Kedah from Staronline------------

Monday June 23, 2008
Kedah told to be alert for loggers

ALOR STAR: The state government has been told to not deal with “environmental culprits” from Sarawak who eye logging tenders in catchments.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) coordinator Mohd Nizam Mahshar claimed that logging companies in Sarawak had bad track records.

He said this in response to Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak’s announcement that the state would hold discussions with a logging company from Sarawak that knew how to carry out selective logging in catchments without causing adverse impact on the environment.

Mohd Nizam said environment groups would go all out to object to the heli-harvesting plan in the 122,000ha Ulu Muda forest reserve that housed the Ahning, Muda and Pedu dams.

“Allowing logging in the area would be a big mistake as it would have far reaching implication on food security, and water supply,” he said.

Azizan, however, has given a personal guarantee that the environment would not be affected as only the old and decaying trees would be removed.

He likened the process as “removing grey hairs.”

“We are merely rejuvenating the forest by removing old trees to make way for new ones,” he said after a ceramah at Muasasah Datul Ulum in Pokok Sena, held in memory of PAS leader Datuk Fadzil Noor who passed away six years ago.

In any case, he said the state would not proceed with the plan without approval from the relevant authorities, including the Department of Environment.

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Tuesday June 24, 2008
A folly to log in Kedah just to make ends meet


A COUPLE of years ago the nation was shocked with the image of Lojing in Kelantan; mighty trees and greens of thousands of years fell from the greed of men. After some finger-pointing the news trail turned cold, no one was to blame and no one was to take the responsibility.

Now the new PAS-led government, after winning another state, is reliving the past. Logging in Kedah is not a major industry.

The past state government once planned to log the Muda Reserve but the plan was scrapped over environmental concerns.

But now the same idea has re-emerged and this time by the new government.

It is true that money is needed by the state, not just Kedah, but every other state to ensure a well-run government which in turn would benefit the people. But to destroy something to achieve another is a folly.

HARITH JAMALUDIN @HH,

Sungai Petani.

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Sunday June 22, 2008
Kedah to use heli-harvesting
By SIRA HABIBU


ALOR STAR: The Kedah Government is going ahead with its plan to allow selective logging in the Ulu Muda catchment areas using the heli-harvesting technique.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, however, assured the public that the catchment areas would still be preserved because only selective logging to remove decaying trees would be allowed.

“We will be using the heli-harvesting technique to remove the decaying old trees that are more than 100 or 200 years old.

“That means we will only be removing a few trees every hectare,” he said.

He said Kedah had no other choice as it had to cope with rising expenditure.

“We are desperate to increase the revenue to make ends meet as the Federal Government is not keeping its promise to pay RM100mil annually in compensation for sparing the catchment areas,” he said.

Azizan said this in response to objections from various quarters against the state’s plan to carry out logging activities in catchments.

Azizan said the state need not carry out selective logging in reserved forests covering 122,000ha if the Federal Government fulfilled the promise made in 2003 to pay RM100mil a year as compensation for preserving the catchment areas.

The Federal Government had paid the money once when Datuk Seri Syed Razak Syed Zain was mentri besar, he said.

On calls by Sahabat Alam Malaysia for the Penang Government to pay compensation to Kedah for preserving catchments that are crucial to ensure continuous water supply to Kedah, Azizan said they would appreciate it if Penang contributed.

“But it is not our intention to disturb Penang and Perlis that are dependent on water sources from Kedah,” he said.

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Saturday June 21, 2008
Penang fears Kedah logging could jeopardise water supply
By ANDREA FILMER and SIRA HABIBU


GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Government wants Kedah to rethink its plan to allow logging in the Muda catchment area because it could jeopardise its water supply.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was deeply concerned over the move as 80% of Penang raw water came from Sungai Muda.

“We believe that logging in the Muda dam catchment area will have an adverse impact on water resources and utilisation in Penang.

“At a time when our forests are dwindling, logging, especially in catchment areas, is not seen as sustainable development,” he told a press conference yesterday.

He added that the country should be focused on reducing logging, not expanding it.

“I understand that Kedah has been put in a difficult position following the Federal Government’s failure to deliver compensation. However, I feel that conducting RM16bil worth of logging is not a proportionate sentiment,” Lim added.

On Wednesday, Kedah Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak announced that the state would be calling for tenders for logging activities at the Pedu, Muda and Ahning dam catchment areas to cover high state expenditure following the petrol price hike earlier this month.

Azizan said Kedah had to resort to such a move because the Federal Government had failed to deliver annual compensations of RM100mil after the state called off heli-harvesting of timber in the catchment areas in 2003.

Lim said he had instructed Penang Water Supply Corporation General Manager Jaseni Maidinsa to write to Azizan. If necessary, Lim would see him directly.

Jaseni, who was present at the press conference, said Penangites might see the effects of the logging in the next five years if the plan went ahead.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) coordinator Mohd Nizam Mahshar said Penang should pay for the conservation of water catchments since Kedah needed at least RM650mil annually to maintain the Ulu Muda forest reserve.

“As both states are now Pakatan Rakyat states, they should help each other out,” he said.

SAM president S. M. Mohd Idris said the Government should pay a premium to any state government that took measures to protect catchment areas and the biodiversity.

He said 65,000 farming families depended on the irrigation from Ulu Muda, adding that it would have an adverse impact on the current food crisis.

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'I want to make money from God's timber gift'

NST Online

2008/06/26
By : Tan Chew Chin

ALOR STAR: Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak yesterday made light of plans to log RM16 billion in timber logging in the Ulu Muda forest reserve, saying he was missing sleep due to calls from friends on the matter.

He said his friends wanted to know what the fuss was about and that he had told them former menteri besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim had once said that Perlis did not have to pay for water as it was a gift from God.

"I am now saying timber is also God's gift and I want to make money from it. What's wrong with that?" he said to laughter from reporters after chairing the weekly state exco meeting at the Padang Terap District Council office near here yesterday. Referring to Kedah Umno Youth chief Md Rawi Abdul Hamid's call for a referendum on the proposed logging of an area twice the size of Singapore, he said "maybe someone just learned the word referendum". He described the call as "unnecessary", adding that referendums were normally held to change the constitution or system of government.

"This is just chopping down a few trees and you want us to hold a referendum?" he asked. Md Rawi was among several people including Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who had asked Azizan to reconsider the proposal.

Several non-governmental organisations, including Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Malaysian Nature Society, had condemned Azizan's plan to log timber in the water basin.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia honorary secretary R. Meenakshi, who estimated about one million trees would be chopped down, had described Azizan's claim that the proposed logging would be environmentally friendly as "nonsense and untrue". Azizan said his logging plan was not new, but similar to what the former BN state government had proposed in 2002, which was rejected by the cabinet. "We are doing what the former state government was afraid to ask from the Federal Government."

State Secretary Datuk Wira Syed Unan Mashri Syed Abdullah said that the previous Federal Government had failed to honour the cabinet's agreement to pay the state government RM100 million for sparing the forest reserve.

"We have been helping the country preserve the area for clean water. If the Federal Government gives us compensation, we will preserve the forest reserve," he said.

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Lim says Kedah MB not properly advised

NST Online

2008/06/26
By : Amy Chew reporting from Jakarta

CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday accused the Kedah government of working with timber concessionaires from Sarawak close to the Barisan Nasional in water catchment areas in the Ulu Muda forest reserve.

He said Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak should reconsider the idea in view of the link to BN."We hope he will reconsider because he is teaming up with these timber concessions from Sarawak which are closely-linked to BN parties." He said it was ironic Azizan was doing so and that "perhaps he was not properly advised" on the matter.

"After winning power, to be working so closely with BN vested interests is something quite unexpected."

Lim said the DAP was opposed to the move as it would affect water resources in both Kedah and Penang.He was speaking to the New Straits Times in Jakarta after a presentation at the 2nd World Peace Forum yesterday.

The controversy began after Azizan urged the Federal Government to allocate RM100 million annually or face the possibility of logging in water catchment areas in the state.

He had said that the state government was losing millions in revenue because they could not log trees for timber.Azizan, who said that timber near the catchment areas was worth over RM16 billion, ran into criticism for suggesting that the Ulu Muda forest reserve be logged.

Among his fiercest critics was Lim who had said that logging in the area would lead to catastrophic effects, especially at the Muda Dam. Meanwhile, he told the forum that globalisation was a better model for world peace than geopolitics.

"Globalisation creates ideas, the ability to acquire knowledge. Geopolitics decides whether or not we go to war."

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Bar: Kedah can’t log trees near river reserve

Friday June 27, 2008 MYT 5:16:55 PM

Staronline

PETALING JAYA: The Kedah Government has no right to cut down trees near the Ulu Muda River Reserve as water catchment areas fall under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act 1959, the Malaysian Bar Council said.

Environmental Law Sub-Committee chairman Roger Tan said that while all forest produce on state land were the property of the state government, most states had laws against polluting water catchment areas.

“The reason for this is because the management of water catchment areas will affect the quality and quantity of water,” he said in a statement.

He added that deforestation would cause irreversible ecological damage that would cause soil pollution especially near the Muda Dam.

“Deforestation hastens soil erosion which in turns affects water quality. This then results in higher cost of water treatment,” he said.

Tan added that trees were important for the protection of water catchment, carbon balance, evapo-transpiration, photosynthesis and production of wood.

“It is disappointing to learn that a state government is willing to sacrifice the environment all in the name of development,” he said.

Gerakan is also against Kedah's decision to cut down trees for profit.

“I had objected strongly against a similar move by the Kedah Government in 2002-2003,” party acting president and former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said in a statement.

He added that he had approached then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and then Primary Industries Minister Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik to seek their assistance.

“I had stressed on the importance of the water catchment area to Kedah, Penang and Perlis to the present and future generations,” Dr Koh said.

He said this led to Kedah, which was then governed by the Barisan Nasional, to relent and drop the logging proposal.

Dr Koh urged Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to convince his PAS counterpart in Kedah to abandon the logging plan, adding that Lim should also get Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to assist him.

Perak halts logging after protests

Friday June 20, 2008
Staronline
By CLARA CHOOI

GOPENG: The Perak government has issued an immediate stop-work order to all parties involved in logging near orang asli settlements here.

But that may not be enough to end the longstanding problems faced by some 2,000 villagers.

Yesterday, however, the villagers had an opportunity to vent their frustrations during a site visit by Health, Environment and Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan, Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang, government representatives, and activists.

Also present were officials from Gopeng Bhd, which has come under fire for removing a 14.5km long pipeline, which had run from the Ulu Geroh water catchment area to Gopeng town since November.

The villagers from Kampung Ulu Kampar, Kampung Ulu Geroh and Kampung Serkal alleged they had been victimised and threatened to resort to “violent action” if the “intrusion on their lands” continued.

“We do not want this anymore. No more logging. No more destruction of our ancestral grounds, our crops, our water source, our rivers, our businesses and our lives,” said nature guide Ahha Bah Udal.

The villagers claimed that the recent approval for a 136.72ha logging concession in Kg Empang Besar to a company would further destroy their lands.

“When Gopeng Bhd removed their pipeline, they destroyed our roads and our rivers with the sludge from their construction.

“Now they want to log this area. We will not accept this,” said Ulu Geroh village development and security committee chairman Bah Azmi Ng Porgi, who spoke on behalf of the villagers.

A visit to several areas yesterday showed hill slopes on the verge of slipping, clogged and murky rivers and a crumbling bridge.

Upon seeing the damage, Sivanesan issued an immediate stop work order pending a meeting to study the matter and its legal implications.

“This order is temporary and will be in force for two weeks.

“I need to study the approval given by the Forestry Department and any of the stipulated guidelines the contractor may or may not have breached.

“If the state finds any form of violation, we reserve the right to withdraw the logging approval and order for compensation for the damage caused,” he said.