Logging firms told to leave forest reserves within 14 days
Copyright 2000
New Straits Times (Malaysia)
December 7, 2000
TAPAH, Wed. - The Perak Government has directed two concessionaires who carried out logging activities at Bukit Tapah and Bukit Slim forest reserves two years ago to clear the areas within two weeks.
State Industrial Development, Entrepreneur and Information Committee chairman Datuk Ramly Zahari said companies found to have infringed on the buffer zones near the rivers would be prosecuted.
He said the Government had also directed another concessionaire who had yet to start logging in the area to suspend its plan until further notice.
Ramly, who chaired a meeting yesterday to discuss the recent mudflow incident in Sungkai said the Forestry Department had admitted that timber remnants were a major cause of the incident.
Ramly, who is carrying out the duties of Menteri Besar, however, did not disclose the companies' names as investigation was under way.
On Monday, mudflows affected the villages of Perlok Lama, Perlok Baru, Kuala Alah, Batu 51, Buntung, Buluh Telur, Chegar Machang and Pekan Lama. Two bridges at Lata Pongsu and Kampung Perlok Lama were also washed away.
"They were not logs but timber debris. We will only know how bad the situation is when investigation is completed in a day or two," he said.
A buffer zone must be between 10m and 50m from the river, depending on the size of the river.
He said the Forestry Department would also investigate other areas that were already logged by previous concessionaires.