Sanusi denies logging causing mud deposits at Tasik Muda reservoir

 

Sanusi Nor stressed that logging activities within the state adhere to international regulations and standards.

PETALING JAYA: Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor has denied an allegation that logging activities were taking place near the Tasik Muda reservoir, leading to mud deposits in the water.

He stressed that any logging activity within the state adheres to international regulations and standards.

According to Sanusi, all requirements and regulations imposed on the timber industry were strictly complied with and enforced by the state’s forestry department.

“So, there’s no issue. Sedimentation happens in all natural water catchment areas. Besides, the (Tasik Muda) reservoir is over 50-years-old,” he told FMT.

Sanusi was responding to RimbaWatch, an environmental NGO,  urging the Kedah government to explain why logging activities were taking place near the Tasik Muda reservoir.

It said satellite imagery showed that the reservoir was being muddied due to deposits from Sungai Muda, which flows through the logging operations upstream.

According to RimbaWatch, the satellite imagery showed that logging operations restarted in the Ulu Muda forest reserve in 2021, and by October and December 2023, the river was visibly muddied and was depositing this mud into the Tasik Muda reservoir.

Sanusi said the sedimentation was caused by sand, soil and wood debris carried by the four main rivers that act as feeders into the reservoir.

“This has been occurring for over 50 years, not just in the past year or two,” he added.

Sanusi also denied that any logging approvals were granted for the 173,000 hectares of forest reserve areas surrounding the Tasik Muda reservoir, saying that it is a protected zone.

Sanusi accused RimbaWatch of being driven by its desire to establish a specialised agency, such as a Sungai Muda river basin authority, which he claimed was “aimed at allowing other states to interfere in matters within Kedah’s territory”.

He said the Tasik Muda reservoir is already being monitored by the Muda Agricultural Development Authority, which is responsible for the development and management of the Muda irrigation system, as well as the state’s department of irrigation and drainage (DID).

“(Illegal) logging may create some sensational news and elevate their (NGO) reputation, but their facts must be accurate and not done to tarnish others,” he said. - FMT