GUA MUSANG: The federal government has approved an allocation of RM3 million to open gaharu wood farms in several Orang Asli settlements in Gua Musang soon, its member of Parliament, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said.
Tengku Razaleigh said the allocation was approved by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during their meeting in Putrajaya on March 25.
“I went to see the prime minister before I came here to ensure that my proposal to open the gaharu wood farms will become a reality,” he told reporters after closing the ‘Kembara Rakyat’ programme in Galas constituency in Pos Brooke near here yesterday.
Present were Orang Asli Development Department (JAKOA) director-general Datuk Mohd Sani Mistam and Galas assemblyman Ab Aziz Yusof.
Tengku Razaleigh said with the allocation approved, it was now up to JAKOA to convene meetings with the state government for land acquisition, as well as other relevant agencies to implement the project.
“We are doing this because we don’t want the Orang Asli to be left out from development and lost their source of
income when the forest areas are diminish by logging activities,” he said.
Tengku Razaleigh also believed that the proposed gaharu farms would give a handsome income to the Orang Asli community.
“Several foreign companies have also shown interests and offered to buy gaharu wood at a very high price,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Sani said JAKOA had allocated RM2.5 million to open community farms to increase the income of Orang Asli community in Gua Musang this year.
He said JAKOA had also provided proper houses for the Orang Asli community with an allocation of RM9 million from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
“The project, which began last year, involves the construction of 76 houses with cooperation from the Armed Forces under the Blue Ocean Strategy. So far, 35 of the houses have been built,” he added. — Bernama