COMMENT In several of my previous articles, I have highlighted the land clearing activities near the Haven Resorts in Tambun.

If left unchecked, it will destroy yet another beautiful eco-tourism spot that can help to boost the tourism dollars in Perak. Domestic tourists have been flocking to Ipoh, especially since the electric train service (ETS) was introduced by KTM.

My concern is that residents of Permai LakeView Apartments have expressed their anxieties that they may be losing their forest reserve, but no one appears to be listening. Despite the matter being raised with the Ipoh City Council (MBI) mayor Zamri Man, there was simply no response.

At face value, the land clearing activities which appear to have encroached into the forest reserve near the Haven Resorts (or at least on paper) are part of a housing project by MBI, but silence from the mayor simply does not help to ease the people’s concerns.

I would have expected Menteri Besar of Perak Zambry Abdul Kadir ( photo ) to at least intervene and provide the answers to the people, or immediately step in to issue a stop-work order until investigation is carried out. All this in the name of protecting the environment and the future of the eco-tourism industry for the people of Perak.

I guess for a government to be legitimate, the people who are heading the various government agencies including the city mayor and the menteri besar should be transparent and tell the full story so that issues can be resolved amicably.

More than just Tambun

At the time of writing, there was another issue that cropped up and raised by another opposition state assemblyperson.

It appears that it is not only the Tambun case. Kuala Sepetang state assemblyperson Chua Yee Ling, in her open letter to the menteri besar, had also highlighted other concerns when she discovered that a significant portion of the Matang mangrove forest had been completely cleared.

While the environmentalists are working hard to replant the mangroves in Selangor and elsewhere, Perak appears to be taking the path towards further destruction to the environment. Fingers are now pointed at the state government. When disasters hit, fingers are then pointed to Mother Nature.

Chua raised her concern with Zambry, but answers have not been very forthcoming despite police report being lodged. In the first place, the state government did not even have the courtesy to inform her about any development project in the area. The people’s concerns and their livelihood, which are now being expressed by Chua, are being ignored. Tell me, where is the ‘People First’ attitude?

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has to face the brunt for the promises that he had made to the people of Perak.

Further concerns

Similar concerns were also raised by Setiawan state assemblyperson Ngeh Koo Ham ( photo ) who, during one of his press conferences, said that the state government has turned on a deaf ear to the people’s grievances.

Ngeh’s investigation shows that land in at least seven out of the 10 districts in Perak have been turned over to the Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBInc), totalling 10,000 acres .

MBInc’s CEO Aminudin Hashim, on his own accord, claimed that the state-owned company only had 2,200 acres and Aminuddin threatened to sue Ngeh, without taking into consideration that the question Ngeh had raised was directed to the menteri besar of Perak, a question which only Dr Zambry should answer.

As a people’s representative, Ngeh is expected to raise the people’s concerns. The ball is then in Zambry’s court to provide the list of lands that has been approved for MBInc, but instead of showing that his government believes in transparency, Zambry raised more suspicion during the recent state assembly.

Zambry had allegedly said during the state assembly that the MBInc account would not be tabled in the august House like that of other government agencies. What’s so special about MBInc then? Why the secrecy around it? Ngeh is right in raising concerns that because the land approved by the Land Office is worth billions of ringgit, if left unchecked, this could lead to a problem similar to the 1MDB.

After all, the 10,500 acres of mining land which Ngeh claimed had been approved by the state Lands and Mines Office was based on Zambry’s earlier reply during the last state assembly session.

All that we want to know is whether the state government is a people-friendly government or its leaders are doing things in secrecy that leave the people of Perak in the dark. As it is now, not many of us know where 1MDB’s billions of ringgit have gone.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.