Pahang ruler Sultan Ahmad Shah said that he will 'smack' (memukul) the irresponsible quarters who used the palace's influence for land clearing in Cameron Highlands.

The sultan, who stressed that he was serious in addressing the problem, also asked for the relevant authorities to either contact him directly or the state government.

"I did not know about this at all. If I had known, I would smack (pukul) the person (involved in issuing the yellow letters)," he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

 

Cameron Highlands was hit by a mudslide recently, the third this year, which killed five people, including a 13-year-old student.

The sultan was responding to a news reports last week which alleged that illegal land clearing in Cameron Highlands was due to orders from palace's officials over the approval of several projects.

The allegation was based on 'yellow letters' claimed to be issued by palace officials who are also descendants of the royal family.

 

The letters allegedly had proposals for certain applications to be approved for 'development purposes'.

According to the news reports, the letters became a source of problem for the authorities who had to approve the applications.