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Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Illegal logging ‘not serious’ in Kelantan - deputy MB

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah has acknowledged the existence of illegal logging in the state but characterised the issue as “not serious”.

He said this when asked about a case where a syndicate illegally cleared part of a forest reserve for an oil palm plantation before selling the land for profit. 

“Logging happens across entire Malaysia but in Kelantan, it is not serious, although illegal logging does happen.

“For example, sometimes kampung folk want to start a kebun (orchard) to plant durians and palm oil, so they cut down (trees in) the forest reserve.

“Encroaching a forest reserve is against the law and we will not tolerate any violations that happen, we will take action,” Amar (above) answered when met after attending the Kelantan state executive council meeting in Kota Bharu this afternoon.

Enforcement authorities recently detected a new modus operandi used by syndicates to clear pockets of the Relai Forest Reserve in Gua Musang.

According to Kelantan Forestry Department director Abdul Khalim Abu Samah, these syndicates cleared forests before planting palm oil trees on them to make the land appear like a plantation.

They would then charge up to RM6,000 for 0.4ha of land.

Unsuspecting buyers were drawn to the lower-than-average offer for the plantation plots only to realise the land had no grants because it was forest reserve land.

Don’t blame logging

Meanwhile, Amar reiterated that tiger attacks that happened in an Orang Asli village in Gua Musang earlier this month were not due to deforestation or a loss of habitat for the wild animal. 

“Logging of forests was not why tigers entered the kampung.

“The Kelantan Perhilitan statement said the tigers entered the village because the tigers were suffering from an illness. This caused the tigers to roam into the village as they could not forage for food as usual.

“It is not right to blame this on logging. We blame logging when there is a bit of flooding (but) this is not the case,” he insisted.

Kelantan Perhilitan director Mohd Hafid Rohani previously speculated that tigers in the Gua Musang vicinity were infected with the canine distemper virus (CDV) and thus experienced behavioural changes.

Kelantan Forestry Department director Abdul Khalim Abu Samah

This comes after Khalim recently and controversially said deforested areas were “good for tigers" as new vegetation could attract animals for them to prey on. 

He appeared to base his comment on research by Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia, which has since come forward to say its findings had been misinterpreted by Khalim. 

The lead researcher clarified that his 2009 research found that deforestation or “clear felling” was not, in fact, good for wildlife.

Two tigers on the loose

On Jan 7, an Orang Asli was mauled to death by a tiger near Pos Bihai. Schools in the area were also closed amid claims of more tiger sightings. 

The Orang Asli community claimed deforestation in Gua Musang had driven the tigers closer to human settlement as they have lost their habitat. 

The state government has refuted such claims.

Today, Amar said Perhilitan remained on the hunt for two more tigers in the vicinity.

“As of yesterday, Perhilitan has not been able to trace two more tigers that were roaming. They did not enter the village after one other tiger was shot.

“We also advised the Orang Asli not to leave their houses and to listen to the advice given. Many have offered help to the Orang Asli to enable them to continue with their lives.

“As of now we have no plans to relocate them as they are more comfortable in their villages compared to the new location,” he told the media.

On Jan 8, Perhilitan reportedly shot and killed the tiger behind the Jan 7 attack. - Mkini

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