The road to Kampung Semadang Danu is still a gravel road.
Piles of logs of various sizes can be seen at the log pond of Kampung Semadang Danu. The ones behind the trees on the right are more than one-foot or more in diameter.
About 2km away from the main road of Semadang-BRS Road, there is a log pond where heavy machinery is also spotted.
KUCHING: The Forest department clarifies that logging in a swathe of NCR land meant for oil palm plantation at Kampung Semadang is legal but if the company licensed to fell the trees strayed outside the boundary of the area then its activities is illegal.
Logging there has raised concern among residents of the Bidayuh villages around the area for quite sometime now.
Lorries carrying huge logs in the evening gave rise to the suspicion that the logging activities at Kpg Semadang Danu is illegal.
“The logs cleared from land for plantation are usually of small sizes. These logs that we saw driven past us are big. We suspect they are from the reserve area (Bengoh Range National Park),” local villagers told The Borneo Post at Kpg Semadang Danu some 30 km from here yesterday.
These local villagers who preferred anonymity disclosed that the logging activities have been going on for a few years.
There is a log pond situated about 2 km away from the main road of Semadang-BRS Road. A check on it showed that there were logs of different sizes being piled up.
Those of less than half-a-foot diameter size were stacked in front. Hiding behind a tree however, was another big pile of logs of about one-foot diameter or even bigger.
“The Chinese and Melanau people are seen to be working there. We don’t know who own the business,” said the locals.
When contacted Mambong Assemblyman (formerly known as Bengoh) Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said he was also unsure of the legitimacy of the logging operations there.
“Last year November, I saw a lorry carrying big logs passing by. I actually took pictures of the lorry and sent it to the Forestry Department. Until now, I have yet to receive any response from them.”
As he was unsure if logging in the area was illegal or it was case of a legal operation becoming illegal because the operators ‘illegally’ extended into the boundary of the nearby National Park.
Like the locals, he raised the suspicion that there might be encroachment into protected forest area due to the size of the logs he witnessed carried by the lorry.
“One thing however, I would like to make it clear here that, I have nothing to do with it. There are some villagers who believed that I am holding the licence to the logging operation because I am the State assemblyman there. But I the truth is, I don’t have it,” he clarified.
Meanwhile when contacted, Forest Department director Sapuan Ahmad confirmed that Occupational Ticket (OT) licence has been given to a group of people from Kpg Semadang Danu to clear their NCR land for oil palm plantation.
“We have actually stationed our men there to ensure that they don’t extract trees from outside the land intended for plantation,” said Sapuan.
On the damage caused the logging trucks on the roads, Sapuan said the Forest Department has sent a letter to the operator to repair them.
“There are still lots of logs in the area waiting to be transported out. They are not illegal logs as they have the permit to extract and transport the logs from the NCR area. But we will continue to monitor and investigate the logging activities there,” stressed Sapuan.