COMMENT It is ironic that the name is Lojing, but the Orang Asli here are against logging.

The Kelantan government has failed to learn that the massive flood that hit the state was the result of extensive logging activities in the state, leaving thousands of people homeless last year.

All that the PAS government is interested in, proverbially speaking, is the amputation of more hands with its push for the hudud laws. No wonder PAS supporters have left the party in droves and joined Amanah, and I hope more sound-minded PAS members will help to strengthen the new party under Mohamad Sabu, who is better known as Mat Sabu.

After all, when PAS was with Pakatan Harapan, we have only known faces like Mat Sabu, Khalid Samad, Husam Musa and Mujahid Yusof Rawa. No one even talked about Abdul Hadi Awang, or any of the others, who are still living in their little cocoons.

Falling on deaf ears

Despite complaints being raised by organisations such as the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) with regard to the rampant deforestation there, the voices of the people have fallen on deaf ears.

Its state economic planning unit (UPEN) deputy director Engku Rajhan Engku Ismail could only give the excuse that the Kelantan government would repossess land and develop it to be on par with the Cameron Highlands, but he stopped short of providing the overall masterplan.

No such masterplan, that is more likely to be the case!

The logging activities were never checked by the state opposition currently held by the Barisan Nasional camp, suggesting that the state opposition is nothing but a rubber stamp for the logging that is still going ahead despite the flood last year.

The Orang Asli have to defend their own turf, without much help from the state opposition.

MNS recently released a statement “urging all relevant authorities to come together to immediately resolve these on-off issues which has plagued our nation for such a long time.”

The non-governmental organisation (NGO) has urged a balanced input and assessment by civil societies and conservation NGOs to be included in such dialogues and engagements.

“The long-term effects of unplanned logging for any intended purpose will lead to massive deforestation which has been in the limelight long enough and are well-known to all concerned parties,” its president, Henry Goh said. “This has also caused pollution of our rivers in different parts of the country and the recent confrontation between the Orang Asli and loggers with the apparent involvement of the police.”

The Orang Asli community in Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s constituency, Gua Musang, are mainly concerned about their ancestral land and their livelihood. They are not prepared to take bribes, a virtue that won even the commendation from the Kelantan Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) director, Moh Samsuddin Yusoff.

According to Moh Samsuddin, illegal loggers have also resorted to offering bribery in the form of cash and supplies of rice and cigarettes. Such tactics would have worked in Sarawak, but in Kelantan, the Orang Asli have decided that enough was enough.

They went to the MACC out of desperation to stop the encroachment into the tropical rainforest near their villages.

Many other alternatives

If Engku Rajhan were sincere about helping the local communities, he should suggest to set up eco-resorts that are sustainable where Malaysians can enjoy homestay facilities with the Orang Asli as the host and eco-guides.

There is such a great potential for eco-tourism involving the Orang Asli which will bring them economic well-being despite living in the forests. Why should we create another Cameron Highlands when the ambience in the once-popular highland is being eroded?

I fully agree with MNS’ analysis. “What is really required is the true will and conscience of the purveyors to come to terms and make conscious efforts to ensure that the negative effects which have been seen in many other parts of our small planet and indeed also her in Malaysia are not allowed to happen.”

But are there still any conscience left in the PAS Islamist party after the departure of people like Mat Sabu, Husam and the rest? What are the PAS leaders good for? They cannot even remember the betrayal of Umno which forced PAS to leave Barisan Nasional in the early days, what more to solve the Lojing controversy amicably!

This is not only in Kelantan, although I single it out because of the current Lojing controversy, but much has to be done elsewhere to curb illegal logging and overlogging. As it is, much of our tropical rainforests have been destroyed and to create the rainforest in the federal capital, it would take another few hundred million ringgit.

Due to his inaction to curb logging activities throughout the country, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is certainly a good prime minister with good economic sense. More donations would be required to help prime our economy. We are now a nation that has to depend on donations.

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