PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a hundred trees must be planted for every one that had to be cut down in Kuala Lumpur.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday (May 15), he said the order was given to the Kuala Lumpur mayor.
This is following the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) announcement on May 10 that it had identified 28 trees as “high risk” and are slated for felling.
DBKL said its certified arborists had been inspecting trees over 30 years old or with a circumference exceeding 1.5m around Kuala Lumpur since 2019.
“So far, 175 trees have been flagged as high-risk, with most being over 50 years old. Out of this number, 147 trees have been felled,” it said in a statement.
“Regular inspections, including the latest in February 2024, have pinpointed 28 trees for felling soon.”
Felling is the process of deliberately causing a tree to fall by cutting through its trunk or main stem.
DBKL said high-risk trees were identified through resistographs, picus tomography and visual assessments to detect defects such as damaged branches or roots, leaning or unbalanced tree structures, and cracks.
It said it adhered to its tree management plan issued in January 2019, which follows a three-tiered risk assessment approach based on on-site tree conditions.
DBKL’s statement came following two uprooted tree incidents in the city following severe storms, the latest of which happened in Jalan Pinang on Monday (May 13) where a tree had toppled, damaging several parked cars in the vicinity. – May 15, 2024
Main pic credit: Straits Times
