KUANTAN: Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob has ordered technical agencies to immediately investigate reports that the critical drop in the Sungai Pahang water level was caused by excessive logging and land clearing, particularly in Hulu Tembeling.
“I have read the report in the newspapers, which to me was fair.
"I have called for an immediate investigation by the technical agencies over the matter,” he said after a charity golf event between the Menteri Besar team and the alumni of Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Ahmad Shah here today.
He said it was not fair to say that only Sungai Pahang is experiencing a critical drop in water level when the country is experiencing extreme hot weather due to El-Nino.
“I am not living in denial, but that is the fact. But at the same time I also did not deny the fact that land clearing for oil palm cultivation and logging had taken place there alongside hydroelectric project in Jelai and Tekal.
“We must be fair too by allowing an investigation to take place before any conclusion could be made,” he said.
Recently, it was reported Sungai Pahang’s shallow state is being attributed to a number of factors including logging, clearing of land for oil palm cultivation and soil erosion.