A NEWLY-WED friend of mine recently chose a resort in the Royal Belum State Park as their honeymoon destination.
While others questioned the couple’s decision, as they could afford other exciting destinations overseas, they were adamant and spent a few nights at the exotic resort.
It was not a cheap affair either as their stay at a suite there cost them a few thousand ringgit. But for them, it was worth every sen.
“We tend to forget God’s gift to us. The lush greenery of our forest, with its rich biodiversity, is something that we should always appreciate,” the wife shared in our WhatsApp group, after the memorable honeymoon.
I have to admit that I really envy them, since my experience in the area last year was not as romantic.
It was during my first month in Perak that I joined a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) team to uncover illegal logging activities in the nearby Temenggor forest reserve.
While my newly-wed friend could stay at the luxury resort, I had to sleep in a dilapidated “kongsi” which was previously used by the foreign workers who worked at the logging site.
It was in a very bad condition, with some of the planks broken, and you could see snakes and other creepy crawlies underneath.
I could not sleep a wink when an MACC officer told me that one of the foreign workers had hung himself after he could not stand the pressure of working in the remote area for months. The MACC team was also forced to throw firecrackers to chase away a herd of elephants that were making their way to our place.
Despite all the challenges, we managed to locate several illegal logging sites and mass “timber graves” where the culprits buried the precious logs to dupe the enforcement team.
A few months later, I had the opportunity to join the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) in a project where they installed camera traps in the state park and surrounding areas.
Since the project had already started in 2012, Perhilitan had thousands of photos and videos of the wildlife captured by the cameras.
It was interesting to see the photos and videos as to watch the animals in the tropical forest is quite impossible as they tend to avoid human encounter.
Under the project, it was confirmed that 12 of the 14 large mammals in Peninsular Malaysia could be found in the area.
Perhilitan Perak director Rozidan Mohd Yasin told me that the camera traps had helped the authorities nab poachers looking for prized wildlife and forest resource, such as gaharu (agarwood).
But, the best trip to the Royal Belum State Park was the one organised by Tourism Malaysia Perak for the media fraternity here, where we had the opportunity to stay in a boat house and a luxury resort at Pulau Banding.
We also visited an Orang Asli village and learnt about the problems they were facing such as transportation and medical service.
All these trips were an eye-opener, not only for me but also to those who read the expose I uncovered and the articles on my experience.
For all the natural beauty that we can still enjoy in the forest reserves, we should never forget the sheer amount of time and energy spent by those behind the scenes to help preserve them. Imagine what will happen to the precious fauna and flora without the dedicated staff from various agencies and volunteers who work tirelessly to protect them.
Therefore, we must all play our role in whatever way possible. The least we can do is to help create awareness on the importance of preserving our forests, since there are those who unscrupulously look at them as the best place to get an income through logging and other activities that are detrimental to the environment.
On my part, I will continue exposing any wrongdoings that may jeopardise our natural heritage. But, this time around, I will bring my own tent if I have to sleep in the jungle!
The writer is NST’s Perak bureau chief