Likas rep lodges MACC report against 'lopsided' logging deal in Sabah

Parti Warisan Sabah’s Likas assemblyperson Junz Wong has lodged a report with the MACC over a “lopsided” logging concession contract awarded by Yayasan Sabah.

A private company was awarded a three-year “helicopter logging” concession contract in 2013 for a steep area within Gunung Rara/Kalabakan forest reserves, which is under the purview of Yayasan Sabah, he claimed.

The same company was also given the exclusive rights to buy the timber extracted from this area, Wong, who is also Warisan vice-president said.

“The issue here is they (the private company) only have to pay RM65 per cubic metre (as stated in the letter) to Yayasan Sabah.

“(But) the pricing (of timber) that we found out in 2013...the cheapest in Sabah and Sarawak is US$285, with premium logs priced way up at US$535 (per cubic metre).

“It says clearly (in the letter) they have only been paying RM65 per cubic metre. It did not say what type of timber.

“I can only assume it is across the board. It is not a fair deal,” he said to reporters after lodging the report in Putrajaya today.

As the expected log production volume as stated in the letter of offer is estimated to be around 20,000 to 25,000 cubic metres per month, a rough estimate of the company’s revenue based on the US dollar pricing of the timber would be around RM27 million a month, he said.

“According to this calculation, the estimated amount paid to Yayasan Sabah is a mere RM1,625,000,” he said.

Describing this deal as akin to “daylight robbery”, Wong urged Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman to confirm whether the contents of the letter are true and how could such a contract be awarded.

He said he had brought up this issue during the latest Sabah state assembly but said that he received no answers.

Instead, he claimed, Deputy Chief Minister Yahya Hussin had challenged him to lodge a report with the authorities if he had sufficient evidence of any misconduct.

“So I took the advice of Yahya in good light and lodged the report today to seek truth for my people of Sabah,” Wong said.

He also said that it is part of forestry policy to prohibit logging on steep areas. Experts have told him, he said, that logging at steep areas should not be done to prevent soil erosion and to preserve catchment areas.

“It is a forest reserve. (It is) our famous conservation area of Sabah which we Sabahans are very proud of,” he said.  Mkini