Kedah executive councillor Amiruddin Hamzah today denied the present PAS-led state government had ever approved logging activities in Ulu Muda forest.

According to him, it was the previous Barisan Nasional state government that had approved the heli-logging proposal to log out the forest, including catchment areas of Pedu, Muda and Ahning.

“The project papers were never tabled at any executive council meeting conducted by the present state government.

“How could we approve the project when it was never tabled?” said Amiruddin who helms the industry investment, science, innovation and bio-technology and entrepreneurial development portfolio.

Expressing surprise over press reports that the present Kedah administration had approved the project last month, he clarified that the state exco meeting had only discussed the possibility of reviving the already approved project to gain revenue.

Beneficial programmes

He said that Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak was merely considering carrying out the logging activities to offset the denial of federal funds and escalating cost to sustain the administrative operations - this is to carry out beneficial programmes to Kedahans.

T ulu muda kedah 260608 he forest felling project was approved in 2003 by the previous administration but was never carried out following a cabinet directive to state governments to gazette all water catchment areas and bar logging activities.

A federal Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the heli-logging in Ulu Muda reserves in 2003 revealed that the proposed extensive 404km road network would fell four million trees, posing a grave threat to industrial and township developments in the Northern Corridor Economic Region.

The federal government has agreed to compensate RM100 million to the Kedah government then for loss of revenue in the halted logging activities.

The previous government led by then Mentri Besar Syed Razak Syed Zain had on July 2003 approved a 22,798-hectare timber concession to Sibu-based WTK Holdings Sdn Bhd and Yayasan Islam Kedah to carry out 'heli-logging' in six forest areas at Ulu Muda, Pedu, Padang Terap, Chebar Besar, Bukit Keramat and Bukit Saiong, encompassing 36 percent of Kedah's forest reserves

The project was shelved until Azizan revealed that the state government was considering reviving the project.

Menteri Besar misquoted

On June 20, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng expressed disappointment over the Kedah government's plans to log out the catchment areas which would jeopardise water supply to five million inhabitants in the northern corridor within five years.

However, Amiruddin claimed that the media had misquoted the mentri besar and insisted that the present PAS government did not approve the project.

“We are only considering logging provided it is not detrimental to the environment. It is also subject to soil study,” he said.

Lim is set to lead a state delegation next month to Alor Setar to discuss with Azizan about the controversial logging.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Nature Society, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Water Watch Penang and Kedah's Friends of Ulu Muda II (FoUM II) movement, comprising 17 green groups, are appalled that the state government’s consideration in logging at catchment areas.

They have demanded for the state government to gazette Ulu Muda forest reserves as a state or national park, and to set up an Ulu Muda Trust Fund to protect the catchments.