A DAP state assemblyperson is puzzled why Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin ( below ) and the state government have refused to answer questions related to logging activities in the state.

“What are they hiding from the public with regard to logging activities?” Bentayan assemblyperson Chua Wee Beng said in a statement yesterday.

Stressing that logging activities are a serious issue, Chua pointed out that the state government should be more than ready to share information with the public.

The public can then become the eyes and ears of the state to assist in preventing illegal logging activities from occurring, he added.

“If the issue of logging is not handled properly, there is a possibility that the flora and fauna will be destroyed just like in Cameron Highlands and other states,” he noted.

Chua had earlier expressed his grouse over the rejection of his questions at the Johor state assembly in relation with logging activities in the state.

He explained that he had wanted to ask for the names of companies given logging licenses in Johor between 2009 and 2014 at the state assembly on Feb 12.

His questions on the issue were also rejected in an assembly sitting last year.

“I urge menteri besar (Khaled) and the state government to be a 'gentleman' and to be more open in giving answers to all questions raised by the state government," he said.

According to a Google Earth mapping exercise in 2013, Malaysia is one of three countries in the world which has the highest national rates of deforestation.

The map for Malaysia's deforestation showed that the most intense clearing activities took place in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor, while there were also many red areas which appeared in the long coastal areas from Sibu to Miri in Sarawak.