MB defends logging in Johol

But Mohamad Hasan is silent about allegations of illegal felling in the Miku reserve.

SEREMBAN: Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan today rejected an allegation about illegal logging in Negeri Sembilan, accusing PAS of raising the issue out of ignorance.

“PAS does not understand what we are doing,” he said in response to claims by the party and some members of the Orang Asli community that loggers were felling trees in the Miku forest reserve.

Mohamad then disclosed some details about the state-approved “timber latex clone” project that he said would improve the economy of the Orang Asli.

He admitted that he was referring to the Johol forest reserve but said PAS made the allegation on Tuesday at a press conference held in Johol, not Miku.

During that press conference, Negeri Sembilan PAS chief Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani accused Mohamad of trying to blame the local Orang Asli community for illegal logging in Miku.

According to Taufek, Mohamad spoke about illegal logging during at a state assembly session in August 2012. He said the culprits in Miku were Orang Asli, Taufek added.

PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, who was at Tuesday’s press conference, said it was doubtful that the Orang Asli had the resources to carry out the large-scale logging going on in Miku.

Speaking about the clone project in the Johol reserve, Mohamad said it would increase the income of Orang Asli in Kampung Bari and Kampung Charik. More than 200 families were expected to benefit, he added.

“The project is in accordance with 68th National Land Council decision, which allows 5% of the permanent forest reserve to be developed for forest plantation projects,” he said.

“The logging was done legally and the license was given to the contractor and approval was given to the Negeri Sembilan Orang Asli Development Department as the responsible agency.

“The project involves 410 hectares out of 155, 000 hectares of forest reserve. In fact the party developing the project is the Orang Asli Cooperative.”

The conversion of natural forests to latex-timber clone plantations is a controversial issue. Environmentalists say it destroys an area’s natural biodiversity and ecology and could wipe out endemic species.