Illegal logging: Govt to take necessary action

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KUCHING: Efforts to keep illegal logging activities in check will be intensified in suspected areas in the state, acting Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Planning and Resources Management Datu Len Talif Salleh said yesterday.

Speaking in reply to questions posed to him by The Borneo Post, Len said such efforts were necessary to ensure that the state government’s aim to rehabilitate and preserve its forests would not be compromised.

Len’s comments were made in response to the illegal logging activities at Kampung Matang Lot here as published in The Borneo Post yesterday.

He stressed that the state government was always serious in tackling these illegal activities and would take the necessary action against the culprits.

Last weekend, two villagers of Kampung Matang Lot brought reporters of The Borneo Post to visit  sites about 1.5km to 3km walk where illegal loggers were said to have been active.

There were signs of rampant tree felling activities in the area said to be designated state forest reserve.

According to one of the villagers, the modus operandi involved cutting the trees halfway using chainsaws and then let these trees fall on their own momentum, while the task of bringing the logs downhill was done with the aid of “rollers” made of smaller round timbers laid down on man-made paths.

The four tree species said to be frequently cut down by  these illegal loggers were ‘belian’, ‘cengal’, ‘meranti’, and ‘selangan batu’.

These are highly sought after timbers capable of commanding high prices in the market, mainly in the furniture and construction industries.

The two villagers claimed that they were afraid to confront the illegal loggers while they were in action because they believed gangsters were involved in the activities.

“We are afraid that our family members would be harmed by this group of people. So, the only thing we dare do is get the media to zoom in on the activities,” said one of the villagers.

Len, meanwhile, said the ministry had investigated the few reports lodged with it and had taken actions against several parties.

“We always keep tabs on the situation to ensure that our forest would not be tainted by these activities … and we have to investigate before we take any action,” he said, adding there were cases where the logging activities were carried out by the land owners.

Meanwhile, efforts to get information from the Enforcement Unit of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) on the purportedly illegal activities at Kampung Matang Lot were politely refused by a staffwho asked The Borneo Post to contact the Corporate and Public Relation Department.

According to the department’sspokeswoman, the corporation is now doing its investigation based on the news published.