Sabah to look into claims of rainforest land being advertised for sale

 

A post which went viral on Friday alleged that rainforest areas totalling 80,000ha in Sabah and Sarawak were being advertised on an online marketplace. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: 

The Sabah government will investigate claims that rainforest areas in the state are being advertised for sale on a social media platform, says chief minister Hajiji Noor.

He said that as of now, his administration has not received further information regarding the matter.

Hajiji urged the public, especially Sabahans, to not be easily influenced by information spread through social media without verification from the relevant government agencies or departments.

“We will look into this matter first. The public should not be easily swayed. Accurate information comes from the relevant agencies or departments.

There is a lot of deception and slander on social media. I hope the public will not believe everything they see on these platforms,

 he told reporters at the Sabah International Convention Centre here today.

Hajiji was responding to a viral post published last Friday alleging that nine listings of land in rainforest areas totalling 80,000ha in Sabah and Sarawak were being advertised on an online marketplace.

The post was uploaded by a body claiming to be a regional independent observer conducting research and analysis on climate-related issues.

Chief conservator of forests Frederick Kugan was quoted in a local newspaper today as saying the Sabah forestry department would investigate claims that two forest reserves were up for sale in the state.

Kugan expressed dismay that online platform users were advertising the sale of land within forest reserves with the intent to potentially scam would-be investors. - FMT