KOTA KINABALU: More than 10 companies are suspected of being involved in illegal logging in the state’s forest reserves.
During a recent operation, the Illegal Logging Crackdown Committee under the Chief Minister’s Department recorded 40,161 logs that it suspects were processed without paying the timber tax.
The massive crackdown, which started early this month, focused on the Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve (Yayasan Sabah concession) in Tongod, Trusmadi Forest Reserve (Forest Management Unit 5) in Ranau, and Gunung Rara Forest Reserve (Yayasan Sabah concession) in Kalabakan.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said reports had been lodged with police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“We believe these logging activities violate the provisions of the Forestry Enactment 1968,” he said.
“This is one of the measures taken to prevent our forestry resources from being exploited because, in certain areas, there were almost 20,000 abandoned logs without timber tax.
“The wood size is also doubtful and believed to have violated the provisions set by the Forestry and the logging activities also involved the cutting of protected belian trees.”
Mohd Shafie said he did not know how long the logging companies had been operating.
“For sure, the approval was not given by the current state government. However, I don’t want to make any assumptions.
“I hope people are mindful that we are very firm in insisting that action be taken against (the companies).”
Mohd Shafie urged logging companies operating in the state to comply with the logging licence requirement, Forestry Enactment 1968 provisions and Forestry Rules 1969.
At the moment, there are 9,300 logs at a sawmill and forest reserve in Tongod, 549 logs at a sawmill in Sandakan and 5,091 logs in forest reserves in Ranau.
In Kalabakan, 6,221 logs were discovered in the forest reserve and 19,000 logs were found at two sawmills.
On July 16, Mohd Shafie announced that the government had reactivated the Illegal Logging Crackdown Committee to strengthen enforcement to protect the state’s forestry resources.