Let federal govt crack the whip, environmentalist says on forestry laws

The government says it is working to tighten laws governing forest conservation.

PETALING JAYA: An environmentalist has backed the suggestion for the federal government to be given more clout in forestry matters, saying individual states are often seen as “toothless” in enforcing relevant laws.

Noor Jehan Abu Bakar, the chairman of the Malaysian Nature Society’s Pahang division, gave the example of bauxite mining which saw a ban on all activities in the state two years ago following the contamination of water sources due to run-offs from unsecured stockpiles.

“No one has been brought to court even though the damage to the environment was overwhelming,” she told FMT.

She added that the mining activities stopped only after the federal government stepped in.

“This goes to show that the state lacks the willpower to execute enforcement.”

Deputy Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji recently told FMT that his ministry is working to tighten forest conservation laws.

An expansion of the federal government’s power in some areas is one of the amendments under consideration, he said. Presently, individual states have full power of enforcement in forestry matters while the federal government can only make policy and monitor.

Noor Jehan said it was “impossible” to expect state governments to ensure the enforcement of regulations as there is often an overlap in powers between different departments.

“They will be passing the buck to other departments to do the enforcement,” she added.

Apart from enforcement, she said, the federal government should also be in charge of rehabilitation. She said here, too, states had shown a lack of willpower in rehabilitating areas used for logging and mining.

Activist Teckwyn Lim, who conducts research on deforestation and wildlife conservation issues, said the federal government currently has some degree of power over states when it comes to forest protection.

He gave the example of the government’s action against Kelantan for allegedly encroaching into Orang Asli land.

The energy, science, technology, environment and climate change ministry can also issue stop-work orders under the Environment Quality Act for operations deemed to be jeopardising the environment.

However, he also noted gaps in environmental laws, including the exclusion of the word “environment” in the Federal Constitution.

He said these holes had resulted in lax and irregular enforcement.

“Under the constitution, things like land, forests, wildlife and water are mentioned, but not the environment or biodiversity as a whole,” he said.

“It’s all fragmented. State governments and the federal government handle different issues.”

Lim said the development of forest land, in particular, poses a problem for endangered wildlife.

“You have laws to stop them from being captured or traded. But if you bulldoze a forest and kill hundreds of tigers for development purposes, there’s no prosecution or punishment.

“There is no special law protecting any one area just because there are endangered animals living there.” - FMT