PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has called for the national leaders of Pakatan Harapan – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Mohd Sabu – to reverse the degazettement of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR).
If they fail to do that, they have lost all moral ground to criticise excessive logging and mining activities approved by states run by PAS and UMNO, said PSM environment and climate crisis bureau head Dr Darren Ong Chung Lee in a statement today.
“We urge Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shari to revoke the degazettement immediately. If he fails, we urge the Selangor state assembly to call for a vote of no confidence against his government,” Ong said.
“Surely there is a more capable Menteri Besar candidate among the ADUNs.”
Lack of accountability and transparency
The shocking decision to degazette and destroy 536.7 hectares – which is equivalent to 865 football fields – of one of the last remaining peat swamp forests in southern Selangor has raised the ire of various quarters, who had further questioned the accountability, transparency and consultative process over the degazettement.
According to news reports, Selangor state executive councillor for environment Hee Loy Sian previously revealed that there were no objections by the Department of Environment, Forestry Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), Dean of Faculty of Forestry and Environment of Universiti Putra Malaysia, among others, during technical meetings.
Oddly enough, when environmental group PEKA (Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam) submitted an official request through the Freedom of Information (State of Selangor) Enactment 2010 for a copy of the Forestry Department’s report on the KLNFR, their request was rejected (see images below).
“Hee claimed that there were no objections by any government agencies responsible for forestry and Orang Asli rights. But if that is the case, why is he keeping the reports from those agencies a secret?” Ong told FocusM.
“This is an important matter of state interest, so the reports by PERHILITAN, JAKOA, etc should have been made public but instead, even the Selangor government’s decision to degazette was made in secret back in May 2021.
“If Hee is so confident that he has the backing, he should release their reports in full – and indeed, he should have done that a long time ago,” he added.
“And if indeed PERHILITAN and JAKOA support the degazettement, why is Hee keeping their reports a secret? Why isn’t he trumpeting it from the rooftops?” – Sept 1, 2021
