CAP proposes stiff penalty on cheating logging company
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) demands that the government imposes severe penalties including revoking the licence of a cheating logging company detected by the Perak Forestry Department recently.
In addition to violating approval granted by the department, the company has caused environmental damage and destroyed our natural resources.
Therefore the government should take stern action against the company because of its irresponsible behaviour which has not only caused harm to the environment and losses but also affected the well-being of people here.
Recently a local newspaper (Berita Harian; May 18, 2015) reported that 400 tonnes of timber worth RM1million was stolen in three locations in Temenggor Forest Reserve near Gerik, Perak. The logs were found buried in the ground by these forest pirates.
The stolen timber had been piled and buried in these three locations since last month. Various types of high-quality timber trees such as merbau, meranti, keruing and seraya had been felled by a company outside areas approved by the Forestry Department.
Earlier this year a similar incident also occurred whereby a logging company from Perak illegally felled trees in Gunung Inas Forest Reserve near Baling, Kedah. The problem allegedly happened due to the confusion of boundaries between the two states.
CAP is disappointed with this illegal activities and hope that this will be a lesson to the government to review and improve its policies and the National Forestry Act 1984 since many similar events that have happened in the past failed to be effectively addressed.
Malaysia has lost precious forests due to uncontrolled and illegal logging which has caused serious environmental destruction, of which one of the adverse effects is the problem of massive floods that occurred recently.
CAP believes that if the inherent weaknesses in the policies and laws is not improved and strictly enforced it would be a sign that the adverse impacts will worsen, affecting our environment and socio-economy.
Press Release, 21 May 2015