Strongly condemning the illegal logging that is going on in Kelantan, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department proposes to recruit Orang Asli people to act as forest rangers.

Shahidan Kassim said that these Orang Asli would be recruited to replant the devastated forests in Kelantan, as he had done so with the Dusun people in Perlis.

“I propose we set up a nursery to replant all these trees and recruit the Orang Asli people as workers. At the same time, we will elect or appoint them either as honorary forest rangers or volunteer rangers.

“I've done the same thing with the Dusun folk in Perlis. They used to steal lands before, but now they are honorary rangers,” Shahidan said after a Youth Parliament luncheon today.

The terrible floods that hit Kelantan in recent months have brought devastation to the PAS-held state, particularly damaging the villages of the Orang Asli people there.

Shahidan who is also Arau MP, claimed in a Bernama report that he has solid proof of illegal logging and land clearing activities in Gua Musang, which he stated as one of the causes of the severe floods in Kelantan.

Answering a reporter's question today, he again said he has proof of illegal logging, but these are all in the form of “pictures” that he would “reveal later on”.

'Man from neighbouring country involved'

He said “black areas” that had remained undisturbed since the days of the Emergency have been cleared by certain quarters, which he said even involved a businessman from a neighbouring country.

"I have solid proof that they were given the Temporary Occupancy Licence (TOL) to clear the land but the land clearing has gone beyond the permitted areas. I also have information on who are doing all this.

"Among them are big businessmen from neighbouring countries. I hope there is a law to take them to court," Bernama quoted Shahidan as telling reporters after chairing a post-flood meeting with state government agencies in Kangar on Jan 12.

Malaysiakini spoke to a forest researcher, Lim Teck Wyn ( left ), in an exclusive interview earlier this month and he also explained why Kelantan fared worst in the recent floods.

Lim said it was because of soil erosion stemming from the clearing out of forests to plant LTC trees, a type of timber that produces rubber wood in forest areas to support the growing furniture industry of Malaysia.

Lim explained when the forests are cleared to plant the LTC trees, a host of problems are created in the environment and the surrounding areas.

Among the problems is soil erosion, which causes the river beds to get a lot shallower. This was one of the contributing factors to the flooding in the Kuala Krai and Gua Musang areas.

“When the land is bare and has no trees, the rainwater directly hits the ground, without any cover,” Lim had said.