PETALING JAYA: Former Kedah menteri besar Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah has defended his approval for a mountain-top durian farm, saying it was to ensure tree replanting.
He said he approved the proposal by ECK Development Sdn Bhd during his tenure as his intention was to ensure logging activities would no longer take place on Gunung Inas in Baling.
“The purpose was to ensure that more trees would be planted so that it would not cause problems to the surrounding area,” he said in a Facebook post.
He was responding to a statement by former menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir, who claimed a Kedah government company was first entrusted to plant durian trees on the mountain during Bashah’s term.
Mukhriz said that when this failed, a private company took over the project.
Bashah said the state government’s intention then was to ensure the area was restored after logging.
“As the menteri besar, I couldn’t make rash decisions and I considered factors such as the economy, the environment, the interests of the population and so on.
“We do not need to over-politicise this issue. Stop pointing fingers at one another and take immediate action,” he said.
The Musang King durian farm on Gunung Inas was said to have contributed to the floods which inundated a village and forced the evacuation of more 1,000 people on July 4.
Seven houses were washed away and about 70 others were damaged. Three members of a family also died in the floods.
However, energy and natural resources minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the floods were not caused by logging.
He said forest development had been carried out in “Compartment 8” of the forest reserve since 2019, with the state government’s approval.
This forest development was carried out for reforestation purposes and so far, more than 5,000 trees had been planted on a 52ha site. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.