GEORGE TOWN: The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) has urged Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to come clean and disclose the names of the timber concessionaires and the amounts they are claiming so that the public can form an informed opinion on the conflicting claims and act upon it.
This follows Sanusi's recent revelation that his government was facing a claim of more than RM1 billion by the timber concession holders but his predecessor Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir had disputed it.
Mukhriz had stated that after several meetings between the Kedah state government and the timber concession holders, the issue of compensation had been agreed upon and what was needed was only its implementation.
"As such, we call on the Kedah Menteri Besar to disclose the names of the timber concession holders and the amounts they are claiming so that the public can form an informed opinion on the conflicting claims and act upon it," CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said today.
"We also call for a Royal Commission of Enquiry to be set up to investigate the propriety and legality of the approval of timber logging concessions and to submit a report with recommendations to improve the law and procedures for approving concessions, and to take action against those responsible for abuse of power and corruption."
Mohideen also called on the Kedah state government not to renew timber concessions that had been cancelled or grant new concessions.
Deforestation, he said, was one of the major causes of climate change which was adversely affecting the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people throughout the world, including Malaysia.
"The Kedah state government should put its rakyat's interests before the profits of the concession holders," he added.
Sanusi, on Wednesday, said his predecessor knew full well about the RM1 billion in compensation payable to some 40 timber concession holders after rights to log in permanent forest reserves were withdrawn.
He had said the situation came about after the previous administration decided to halt logging in select areas of the Ulu Muda Permanent Forest Reserve on Aug 30, 2018.
The Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, with an area of about 100,000 hectares, is an important source of water for the people of Kedah, Perlis and Penang.
It is also an important carbon sink contributing to ameliorating the adverse impacts of climate change. Malaysia, under various international treaties, was committed to reducing its carbon foot print.
"The Kedah Government should be rehabilitating the deforested areas instead of granting logging concessions.
"What is shocking is that the Kedah governments, over the years, had approved timber logging concessions exceeding the quota set by the Forestry Act 1984. This is a serious violation of the law and those responsible must be made accountable," Mohideen added.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) had urged the federal government to expedite efforts to secure international funds to help states conserve forests to safeguard biodiversity and counter climate change, instead of allowing logging activities to continue.
Its president Meenakshi Raman was reported saying the federal government must take measures to compensate the Kedah state government for keeping its forests intact, in exchange for the loss it would suffer due to compensation claims from loggers.