Government should strengthen laws on forest protection-Peka

SHAH ALAM - Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) stated that there were less than 18 per cent of forests left in Malaysia due to logging activities.

Its chairman Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said initiatives should be taken by the federal government to preserve the forests in the country.

“There is a need for a moratorium to be imposed against logging activities and this should be done for the next 20 to 30 years, at least until the restoration of forests takes place,” she said.

Shariffa said environmental care is in a dire state to the point that the Malaysian ecotourism could possibly face extinction, in the near future.

“This is why the federal government should gazette Banjaran Titiwangsa (as a national park) as there is still hope for our forests to be saved," she said.

She claimed that the Prime Minister should amend the National Forestry Act that has been remained unchanged since 1984.

“It is up to the Parliament and the Prime Minister to amend the Act for a better future of the country and that matters related to the forests should be managed by the federal government,” she said.

“The government could also pay a compensation to the states that had relied on the forests as their source of income when the moratorium is imposed,” she added.

She said a petition had also been made calling for a logging moratorium which was initiated by Peka and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), this year.

“Although we managed to gather over 200,000 signatures for the petition, it seems like the federal government is still keeping mum about it,” she said.

The petition was initiated following the flash floods incident which had destroyed some parts of the country in the recent weeks.

It shows that Malaysians have agreed for the federal government to impose logging moratorium similar to the move on bauxite mining in Pahang during 2016.