Illegal hill farming surrounding Janda Baik

2009/07/06 at 12:32 pm · Filed under Illegal Hill Farming, Issues + Challenge, Rape on Janda Baik Hill and tagged: Ginger Farming, Illegal hill farming, Illegal Logging, Janda Baik, Malaysia, Rainforest

(An extract from local newspaper “The Star” on  Tuesday May 5, 2009 under the headline “Put an End to the Rape of Janda Baik” reported by Nature Lover, Kuala Lumpur) :

I AM an avid hiker and nature lover who have been hiking around Janda Baik for the last 20 years. Last week the Prime Minister and his deputy were at Janda Baik, officiating ILMU, an Umno training centre, at Janda Baik. I am sure both of them must have seen the obvious signs of the rape of Janda Baik forest reserve that has been going on for the last 15 years!

The village committee had reported this matter to the Mentri Besar and the Pahang exco on numerous occasions. However, nothing has been done.

The villagers in Janda Baik are extremely unhappy because according to the estimate, more than 10,000 acres of forest reserves have been destroyed.

The “destruction” is apparently financed by towkays from Singapore. What perplexed me is how can such rampant destruction of the forest, obvious even from the KL-East Coast Highway, allowed to take place for so long?

The villagers complain that the temperature is getting hotter by the day. The once cool and clear waters have turned into a stream of teh tarik. Fishes are dying and the ecology of the area is fast changing.

The villagers say they will be punished by the Forestry Department if they plant vegetables or fruit trees on the reserve land. Yet, some culprits have been destroying the forest in broad day light and no action is taken.

I hope our PM can help restore the beauty of Janda Baik by having timber trees that can be harvested by our future generation.

I also hope the Forestry Department can use Google Earth to see the obvious destruction within minutes. The Department must play its role as guardian of our natural heritage.

NATURE LOVER,
Kuala Lumpur.

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