GERIK: Most of the logging compartments in Temenggor forest reserve are located in the remote parts of the jungle, making it difficult for the authorities to make frequent checks on site.
Located around the man-made lake Tasik Temenggor, the forest reserve is part of the 300,000ha Belum-Temenggor rainforest which also covers the Royal Belum National Park, Belum forest reserve and Gerik forest reserve. It is also home to wildlife such as elephants, tigers and various types of poisonous snakes and insects.
When launching the second phase of Belum Rainforest Resort in the area last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had urged the agencies involved to study whether the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia could be listed as a world heritage under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
He was quoted saying that the rainforest had been in existence for over 130 million years, older than the Amazon rainforest, and had a very rich biodiversity that also possessed medicinal and therapeutic values.
Since the Temenggor forest reserve was classified as productive forest reserve, the Forestry Department had in 1992 introduced a more sustainable logging system known as "Selective Management System" or SMS.
Under the SMS, only selected trees are allowed to be felled and loggers must ensure that their activities would not affect various types of trees, including seed producers and those which act as protection for the growing saplings.
The Forestry Department will also identify suitable trees for logging and issue a specific tag that ensures only the selected ones were cut down.
However, investigations by the MACC showed that some of the loggers had cheated the system by using the same tag for several trees, including those which were supposed to be preserved.
Some have also encroached outside their logging areas or the buffer zones to steal the precious timber. In such cases, they will also use the same tag repeatedly.
Menteri Besar's Office Integrity head Anuar Mohd Noh did not rule out the possibility that the culprits got inside help.
"If all the check and balance procedures are followed, it will be difficult for the culprits to steal the logs or cheat the authorities," said the MACC Assistant Commissioner who was attached to the Menteri Besar's Office.
He said the state government and MACC viewed it as a serious offence as the cases in Temenggor forest reserve alone had caused losses of almost RM4 million to the state.
To date, he said MACC had opened four investigation papers for the illegal logging in Temenggor forest reserve while another five were opened by the state Forestry Department
With the information gathered during the operation at Temenggor forest reserve, he said the enforcement agencies involved were confident that they could uproot more cases all over the state.
He said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir had also proposed for the establishment of a joint committee between MACC and Forestry Department to help stop the leakage in the collection of revenue from forest produce.
The committee, he said, would hold a meeting twice a year while its sub-committees would have more frequent meetings to help iron out problems on the ground that could lead to corruption and power abuse.