The DAP-led Penang government is at loggerheads with its PAS-led Kedah counterpart over the latter’s approval for logging activities in water catchments areas in Kedah which would jeopardise water supplies to some five million people in northern Peninsular including the 1.7 million Penangites.

Green groups have already objected to the Kedah government’s approval for two companies to log catchment areas at Muda, Pedu and Ahning while the Penang government has cautioned its neighbour on the serious effects that would result from the logging.

State government officials have pointed out that logging at the three water catchment areas in Kedah would pose a threat to industrial and township developments.

sam bakun catchment 210607 waste land This was because rainfall would be drastically affected if forest trees were felled indiscriminately with adverse effects being obvious within five years.

"There would be a catastrophic impact on the Northern Corridor Economic Region," Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told reporters today at his office.

The Kedah water catchment areas supply the bulk of irrigation water to rice fields across the three northern states of Penang, Kedah and Perlis besides water supply for industrial parks and townships.

Penang derives 80 percent of its 865 million litres of daily water consumption from Sungai Muda, which flows from the eastern part of Kedah to the Straits of Malacca.

Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) CEO, Jaseni Maidinsa, said the corporation - which supplies about 720 millon litres to 461,327 registered customers daily - will write to the Kedah government today on its concerns over the proposed logging activities.

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Jaseni likened the possible impact of a massive chopping down of trees in the catchment areas to the South Australia situation where local authorities there were forced to reject development projects due to a severe shortage of water.

"If logging takes place in the Kedah catchment areas, we would face a dearth of water supply in five years time. That’s the end of development," he said.

The Penang government and green groups are also upset with Kedah for failing to gazette its water catchment areas in compliance with directives given by the federal government to all states in 2003.

Penang gazetted its 62.9 sq km catchment areas in 2004. Kedah, meanwhile, is also said to be expanding rather than reducing its logging areas.

logging logger timber wood kayu balak forest hutan The discord between the two states was sparked off on Wednesday when the Kedah government approved a 22,798 hectare timber concession to Sibu-based WTK Holdings Sdn Bhd and Yayasan Islam Kedah to carry out ‘heli-logging ‘in six forest areas at Ulu Muda, Pedu, Padang Terap, Chebar Besar, Bukit Keramat and Bukit Saiong.

All the logging places fall in the state’s three water catchment areas. These places comprise 36 percent of Kedah’s forest reserves.

The logging activities would earn Kedah a whopping RM16 billion in revenue which Lim described as a ‘highly disproportionate’ move to compensate for RM100 million which Kedah say was not delivered as promised by the federal government.

Lim said logging was not the answer to Kedah’s financial woes, arguing that the catastrophic impact would be far eclipse any monetary gain. Preserving the water catchment areas would be more beneficial in the long run, he said.

"The Kedah government has failed to conduct an in-depth study before approving logging in the catchment areas. It should not have forsaken long-term public interests,’ he said.

Flooding, droughts

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Kedah branch chairperson Phang Fatt Khow said the logging would badly affect water supply to the people and for padi cultivation besides negatively impacting the surrounding bio-diversity.

johor flood 211206 women wadding through flood water This was supported by Consumers Association of Penang President SM Mohamed Idris who also cautioned that the logging would cause water pollution, flooding and droughts.

Three weeks ago, NGOs and nature lovers - in a memorandum entitled: ‘Kedah Citizens Declaration’ - urged Kedah Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak Azizan, to review all environmentally hazardous projects in Kedah.

Their spokesman Mohd Nizam Mahshar said they wanted the state to fulfil its election promises to stop projects that caused environmental degradation and depleted water catchment areas.

Jaseni, meanwhile, called on all states to emulate Penang by taking steps to gazette their water catchment areas to safeguard their vital water supply.

"No point we talk about sustainable and ecological-friendly development when we can’t even gazette our water catchment areas," he said.