Ministry investigating status of Sg Pulai forest reserve

The Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry has opened investigations into the status of the Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve, following reports that part of its land had been developed into the Forest City Golf Resort, said its minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar today.

This is despite his earlier claim that the federal government does not have the power to act against the alleged encroachment.

"At present, my office is finding out the complete details of the whole area and also what has been done in that area," he told the media after attending an event in Taman Pelangi Semenyih this morning.

"I will only be able to report the details with the maps and everything else (after the investigation is complete)," he added.

Meanwhile, when asked if he could confirm that the Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve, where the golf resort is located, has been degazetted as a forest reserve, Xavier said that he is not aware of it.

"No, I cannot confirm that.

"I'm not aware of any degazettation. I haven't been told about it," he said.

The Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve, which supports a rich biological diversity of many mangrove and animal species, was gazetted in 1962.

In 2003, it was identified as a wetland of international importance and placed on the Ramsar List. Malaysia is a signatory of the Ramsar Convention.

In a special report, Malaysiakini established that Forest City Golf Resort comprises an area that is part of the forest reserve.

At the time of writing, checks by Malaysiakini for the notification in the Johor Gazette regarding the excision of the said forest reserve area have been unsuccessful.

Therefore, it is unclear if the portion of the Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve that was turned into the golf resort was declared a "permanent forest reserve" or "commercial land".

The RM1.2 billion project will include three world-class 18-hole golf courses and a luxury hotel. One golf course was open to the public last September.

In late January, Malaysiakini had contacted Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd strategic director Ng Zhu Hann and other representatives with a list of questions on land matters, the commencement date of the project and also information on the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) report.

However, Forest City officials did not respond to those queries.

Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian, who oversees land matters, did not respond to Malaysiakini's request for comment, and neither did his predecessor Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who held office when work on the golf resort began.

The Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve is under the jurisdiction of the Johor National Parks Corporation. Its director Mustafa Kamal Abdullah also did not respond to Malaysiakini's queries.

Warning for illegal plastic recyclying factories

Meanwhile, Xavier warned illegal plastic recycling factories and waste dumping site to stop their operations, saying that the government will initiate legal action against them otherwise.

"The Housing and Local Government Ministry has been doing it. The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Ministry has also been doing it."

"We have gone in (to Kuala Langat and) we have put a stop to it (the illegal plastic recycling factories). Of course, there are some people who are trying to continue. My warning to them is, we will prosecute them and we will stop the industry.

"The cabinet has already decided to stop the import of plastic waste," he added.

In October 2018, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin announced that the government had permanently stopped the issuance of Approved Permits (AP) for plastic waste.

However, in the following month, she said that the government would only improve and tighten the requirements for approved permits (AP) on plastic waste imports, but not completely stop the import of plastic waste. - Mkini