State Govt unlikely to back down on Malua, Ulu Segama
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Daily Express
It is very unlikely that the State Government will withdraw its plan to allow logging in the Malua and Ulu Segama forest reserves, home to various endangered species, including wild orang-utans. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman also continued to insist that felling of timber in the two areas would not damage the environment.
He said harvesting of timber in the 25,000-hectare Yayasan Sabah concession area would be via the Reduce Impact Logging (RIL) system.
According to him, the system pioneered by the State Forestry Department has proven its effectiveness.
"They've done it in Deramakot (Forest Reserve). It has proven to be very viable and at the same time reduces impact on the environment," he said.
He also said the Forestry Department and Yayasan Sabah were monitoring very closely logging activities in the areas concerned in order to protect the environment from being damaged.
"You don't have to fear (because) if you fear nothing can be done if you fear you can not have the POIC," he said.Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, said they must be bold enough to carry out with the plan if they aspire to achieve the government's agenda.
He was responding to concerns raised by various quarters, including opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) Sabah branch who asserted that logging would jeopardise the habitat of the wildlife in these two areas.
Musa said the matter had been thoroughly explained by Forestry Director, Sam Mannan and Yayasan Sabah Director, Tan Sri Khalil Jamalul, and he would not comment further.Keadilan on Monday urged the licence holder, Yayasan Sabah Group, to return the two areas to the State Government.
Its Chairman Haji Awang Tengah Awang Amin said that if logging was allowed to continue in the dense forest reserves, eventually there would be nothing left for the orang-utans and other endangered species there such as sun bears, gibbons and wild buffalo, among others.
A State Government report in 2003 cautioned that Malua, Ulu Segama and other forest reserves in Sabah are the only strongholds left for about 5,000 orang-utans in Borneo island.
WWF-Malaysia also said that the forests are one of the two places in the world where endangered orang-utans, Bornean Pygmy elephants and the critically endangered Sumatran rhino co-exist.
Director of the Forestry Department, Sam Mannan, nevertheless said the flora and fauna in the two areas would not be harmed. In fact, he said there was no evidence of plant and wildlife species going extinct due to logging so much so that "Orang-utans were found to prefer logged areas.
"He said the degraded compartments in Deramakot had been found to have the largest concentration of wildlife adding that orang-utans thrived very well in Deramakot.
He also said that forest fires and hunting pressure are not happening in Ulu Segama and Malua. There are only about 25,000ha of Yayasan Sabah concession area in the forest reserves that has yet to be logged.
On the kind of money that the timber in the two areas would bring to the Foundation, Sam had said:
"If we were to whack it all, it would be about RM4billion, but we are only taking 20-30 per cent of what is there.
"According to Musa recently, harvesting of timber first commenced in 1960s in Ulu Segama during the colonial era while Malua in the 1970s and would be phased out by Dec. 31, 2007.
Also present at the function were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Industrial Development Minister-cum-chairman of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd Datuk Ewon Ebin, State Secretary Datuk KY Mustafa, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor, other Cabinet members and heads of Government departments.
Daily Express
It is very unlikely that the State Government will withdraw its plan to allow logging in the Malua and Ulu Segama forest reserves, home to various endangered species, including wild orang-utans. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman also continued to insist that felling of timber in the two areas would not damage the environment.
He said harvesting of timber in the 25,000-hectare Yayasan Sabah concession area would be via the Reduce Impact Logging (RIL) system.
According to him, the system pioneered by the State Forestry Department has proven its effectiveness.
"They've done it in Deramakot (Forest Reserve). It has proven to be very viable and at the same time reduces impact on the environment," he said.
He also said the Forestry Department and Yayasan Sabah were monitoring very closely logging activities in the areas concerned in order to protect the environment from being damaged.
"You don't have to fear (because) if you fear nothing can be done if you fear you can not have the POIC," he said.Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, said they must be bold enough to carry out with the plan if they aspire to achieve the government's agenda.
He was responding to concerns raised by various quarters, including opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) Sabah branch who asserted that logging would jeopardise the habitat of the wildlife in these two areas.
Musa said the matter had been thoroughly explained by Forestry Director, Sam Mannan and Yayasan Sabah Director, Tan Sri Khalil Jamalul, and he would not comment further.Keadilan on Monday urged the licence holder, Yayasan Sabah Group, to return the two areas to the State Government.
Its Chairman Haji Awang Tengah Awang Amin said that if logging was allowed to continue in the dense forest reserves, eventually there would be nothing left for the orang-utans and other endangered species there such as sun bears, gibbons and wild buffalo, among others.
A State Government report in 2003 cautioned that Malua, Ulu Segama and other forest reserves in Sabah are the only strongholds left for about 5,000 orang-utans in Borneo island.
WWF-Malaysia also said that the forests are one of the two places in the world where endangered orang-utans, Bornean Pygmy elephants and the critically endangered Sumatran rhino co-exist.
Director of the Forestry Department, Sam Mannan, nevertheless said the flora and fauna in the two areas would not be harmed. In fact, he said there was no evidence of plant and wildlife species going extinct due to logging so much so that "Orang-utans were found to prefer logged areas.
"He said the degraded compartments in Deramakot had been found to have the largest concentration of wildlife adding that orang-utans thrived very well in Deramakot.
He also said that forest fires and hunting pressure are not happening in Ulu Segama and Malua. There are only about 25,000ha of Yayasan Sabah concession area in the forest reserves that has yet to be logged.
On the kind of money that the timber in the two areas would bring to the Foundation, Sam had said:
"If we were to whack it all, it would be about RM4billion, but we are only taking 20-30 per cent of what is there.
"According to Musa recently, harvesting of timber first commenced in 1960s in Ulu Segama during the colonial era while Malua in the 1970s and would be phased out by Dec. 31, 2007.
Also present at the function were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Industrial Development Minister-cum-chairman of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd Datuk Ewon Ebin, State Secretary Datuk KY Mustafa, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor, other Cabinet members and heads of Government departments.
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