A PROPERTY agent has claimed that her advertisement for the sale of a 404ha logging site in Gunung Inas, Baling for RM15 mil is legitimate.
NST reported the agent as saying that the valuation in the advertisement that was uploaded onto Facebook was based on a 2022 quota allocated to the Kedah Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI).
“The logging site in Compartment 21 of Gunung Inas has been earmarked for logging,” she said in a series of text exchanges with the English daily.
According to the agent, a lawyer that she was dealing with had confirmed that the logging concession was awarded to the company and the sale of timber allocated to the MBI.
However, the offer based on a letter purportedly from MBI dated on May 7, 2023 had lapsed when the company that won the contract failed to pay the RM1.92 mil premium within 14 days of the issuance of the letter.
“Nevertheless, the offer is still valid, and we invite any interested company with a sound financial record for discussions.”
Earlier today (March 28), the Kedah forestry department denied that the Gunung Inas logging area is for sale following an advertisement on Facebook.
The department’s director Muhamad Abdullah said the advertisement could be the work of scammers and had urged the public to not fall for such advertisements easily, reported Berita Harian.
“There is something amiss about this advertisement, possibly a scam. They’re just trying to make some money,” Muhamad was quoted as saying.
The advertisement on Facebook indicated that 40-year-old trees and the whole 404-hectare logging area at Gunung Inas were on sale for RM15 mil.
Muhamad said his department is investigating those behind the advertisement after concerns were raised that the alleged sale of the land could lead to floods and landslides.
In July 2022, the Kampung Iboi floods near Baling affected more than 1,000 villagers, destroying 17 homes and claiming four lives.
Following the incident, residents urged the state government to shut down the durian farm at Gunung Inas and to drain out three retention ponds at the mountain’s peak claimed to have triggered the tragedy.
However, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said he was informed by the energy and natural resources ministry, as it was then known, that the flash flood was a geological disaster and not caused by the durian farm. – March 28, 2024
Main pic credit: Facebook