Kulim residents fear looming disaster over hill slope logging

 

A Google Earth 2019 satellite image shows the area of land that had been cleared on Gunung Bongsu.

KULIM: A logging project on a 500ha site at Gunung Bongsu, Karangan, here has sparked concern among residents downhill who fear a repeat of the Baling floods.

Kulim assemblyman Yeo Keng Chuan spoke of the people’s jitters after he stumbled upon an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report submitted to the environmental regulators.

Yeo said it came as a surprise that the project received the okay from the state forestry department and Kedah’s Menteri Besar Incorporated for a 60-year concession.

FMT has contacted the Kedah Department of Environment on whether the EIA – published on DoE’s website – had been approved. The executive councillor in charge of the environment, Robert Ling, has also been contacted.

According to Yeo, the normal procedure is for the EIA to be approved before a project can be carried out.

“It is unimaginable at a time when we are facing climate change and regular flash floods in Kedah for such logging activities to be allowed to carry on,” he said.

An official report identified cascading geological processes – heavy rain, landslides, debris flows and floods as well as mud floods – as the main cause of the July floods in neighbouring Baling that affected 41 areas and took three lives.

“Furthermore, these hills are precious water catchments. If mud were to flow down from the cut hill slopes to our major rivers, we will have water supply problems,” Yeo told FMT.

Kulim assemblyman Yeo Keng Chuan showing a copy of the environmental impact assessment report.

Yeo said inevitably, roads would have to be built to reach the highest portions of the hill on 45-degree contours, which could channel down mud-filled water after a downpour.

He asked if the state government had ensured the logging activities followed strict erosion controls to stem flooding.

“The distance to Kulim town, Hi-Tech Park and the old town is not far. It is best that the logging, if it is already underway, be put off to avert a possible catastrophe,” he said.

Yeo said the larger Kulim district had many rivers flowing down the hill, which put the area at further risk of flash floods should logging continue to be carried out upstream.

“There have already been incidents of severe flash floods at the Karangan, Kob, Kulim and Jarak rivers. The intricate river system is at further risk if more hills are terraced and cleared, creating more exposed land.

“Mud would be carried down from these hills during a downpour and the whole place would be a mess,” he said.

According to the EIA, three species are to be logged, Merbau, Kelempayan and Batai. For the report, 150 people in 10 residential areas were surveyed, with 60% of them opposing the project.

Satellite imagery on Google Earth based on the coordinates on the EIA showed 390ha in the area have already been cleared.

In an immediate response, Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Md Nor said the project was approved long before he took the post.

He said when he came in, he discovered 22,000ha had already been approved for logging when the maximum allowed was 15,000ha by the National Land Council.

“I wonder why the YB (Yeo) did not raise this when he was part of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government or even sent a letter asking for it to be cancelled,” he said. - FMT