Malaysians are asked to be "proud" for on Sunday 100,000 trees were planted nationwide, 100,000 little trees in one minute. The prime minister himself launched the "New Millenium Tree Planting" campaign at Taman Bukit Jalil and planted a "kapur" tree.

Once again, we have entered the Malaysian Book of Records.

The irony is that many projects approved by the government have been responsible for the felling of trees and all these developing projects have been approved fully by the government - the very government that is now calling for the planting of the trees.

And many of the projects have been opposed vehemently by the people who have the environment at heart but the projects went ahead as planned and some have been abandoned after the land clearing - all in the name of development.

One wonders at the logic of it all, planting young trees, which might just die the very next day, when mature trees and jungle are being felled every minute of the day, nationwide. It is like trying to conceive a new baby after killing the grown up child. One can never say if the baby will ever be conceived. If at all it is given birth to, one can be sure that the newborn will never be able to replace the life that has been annihilated.

Environmental destruction

Hundreds of thousands of young trees planted nationwide will never be able to replace the environmental destruction that took place in Bakun Dam. Hundreds of young trees planted will never be able to replace the disaster that is taking place at the Sungai Selangor Dam site.

These two major dam projects are enough for examples - dam projects that are supposed to be for the "good" of the nation even when the nation says that it does not need them, even when thousands of people protested and are still protesting the felling of thousands of trees, levelling of hills and taking away people's rights and lands just like that, all for filling up the pockets of a few people.

In Bakun (photo), it is a picture of nothingness. One cannot imagine that not long ago, the whole place was green and alive but now it is bare white sand and unfinished tunnels, as far as the eyes can see. One can only feel as if this might just be the scorching Padang Masyhad (the place of congregation on the Day of Reckoning).

At the site of the Sungai Selangor Dam, it is as if the earth is bleeding, what with the red soil of the hills as they are levelled. The Sungai Selangor itself has become the longest teh tarik river in the world (another entry for Guinness Book?).

If it is not for dams, trees are being felled daily by indiscriminate logging in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula. And if it is not for logging purposes, land filled with trees have been cleared to build "other" projects.

The "other" projects can vary from airport to township to racing circuit.

It is difficult when the laws are there but the mechanisms to implement the laws are hindered.

No rule of law

The problem that is facing us all in this country, is the environment is beautifully protected on paper but the implementation of the laws is near to nil in reality. The public and the environmentalists are never consulted and if at all they are consulted, their views are put on paper and never heard of again.

If one has the power and the connections, one can easily cause wanton destruction of the environment, no matter what the public or the media says. The mainstream media has many times come out with strong articles lambasting the destruction of the environment for the benefit of the few in the name of the future of the country, only to get an order from the powers-that-be to stop writing against such projects.

The government might have been pushed by guilty conscience to start a campaign to plant the trees or it might be an effort to tell the people "Look, we are not destroying the environment. We are planting trees."

In the end, the irony of it still remains.

If only the little boy who said the truth about the naked Emperor could have been there at the tree planting ceremony by the prime minister, he would have asked his father: "He is planting such a small tree. Is that to replace that big tree that was rooted out yesterday? They don't look alike!"

Photos courtesy of [#1]Sarawak Peoples' Campaign[/#]