Dept freezes entry into Perak forests

 

Kelah fish believed to have been caught through fish bombing in a Perak forest recently. (Facebook)

IPOH: The Perak forestry department has issued an immediate freeze order on the approval of permits for entry into four permanent forest reserves in the Hulu Perak district for recreational purposes.

Its director, Basri Abdul Manaf, said the freeze would be for three months starting yesterday for the purpose of enforcement and control over forest resources.

He said the forests were the Amanjaya Forest Reserve, the Banding Forest Reserve, the Temengor Forest Reserve, and the Gerik Forest Reserve.

“All permits for entering these forests for recreational activities, like off-road racing, motocross, mountain biking, fishing and so forth, have been suspended since yesterday.

“Failure to comply with this directive is at one’s own risk and may result in prosecution under the National Forestry Act 1984 (Adoption) Enactment 1985,” he said in a statement today.

Earlier, the media reported that people had allegedly used explosives to catch ikan kelah, a protected species, at Kuala Sungai Mangga and Sungai Senga in the Temengor Forest Reserve at Hulu Perak during off-road racing, prompting public outrage.

State women, family, social welfare, cooperative and entrepreneur development committee chairman Salbiah Mohamed, who is also the Temengor assemblyman, lodged a police report on the matter at the Gerik police headquarters today.

In a Facebook post, she expressed sadness and disappointment over the incident which had affected the ecosystem of the protected ikan kelah species. - FMT