An environmental group has urged the Pahang government to reconsider its decision to reject a National Forestry (Amendment) Act 2022 requirement on holding a public inquiry prior to removing land from permanent forest reserves.
Labelling the move as an "outrageous step backwards" in environmental governance, Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Rajesh Nagarajan called on the state government to immediately restore the requirement.
"Pahang's forests do not belong to the state government - they are a public trust," the lawyer said in a statement today.
"If the government genuinely believes that its forest-excision decisions are justified, let the public examine them and let the government defend them in the open.
"Otherwise, the obvious question remains: What exactly is Pahang afraid the public will discover?" Rajesh (above) pressed.
Malaysiakini reported yesterday that Pahang had become the fourth state to reject two requirements under the National Forestry (Amendment) Act 2022 aimed at protecting permanent forest reserves.
The requirements under Sections 11 and 12 would respectively compel state authorities to hold a public inquiry before excising any land from a permanent forest reserve and gazetting replacement land of equal or greater size.
A bill enacting the federal law in Pahang's forestry legislation was passed at the state assembly sitting on Aug 27.
The other three states to have acted similarly are Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak.
No reason to fear public inquiry
Arguing that a public inquiry is the "bare minimum safeguard" available to residents, Rajesh said the public has a right to know which forests are being "sacrificed", the reasoning behind such decisions, who benefits, and any potential environmental consequences.
"If every proposed excision is genuinely necessary, environmentally responsible and in the public interest, then there should be no reason whatsoever to fear a public inquiry.
"The government cannot demand public trust while simultaneously removing the very mechanism that allows the public to hold it accountable," he stressed.
He pointed out that the state legislative assembly's move also comes amid concerns on shallow waters in Sungai Pahang, which Rajesh deemed a "consequence of environmental degradation".
"...while Pahang is struggling to understand what is happening to one of its most important rivers, it is simultaneously weakening public scrutiny over the very forests that form part of the state's ecological and water-catchment system.
"This is not responsible environmental management. It is environmental governance by secrecy," he asserted.
Yesterday, Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government will look into long-term solutions to overcome issues regarding the shallow Sungai Pahang in several specific areas, including Kampung Pesagi, Maran.
Bernama reported that the state government is obtaining a complete report from relevant parties on the condition of the river before further action can be decided. - Mkini
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