The Malaysian Insight

THE Sabah government’s decision to lift a ban on timber exports is a step in the wrong direction, environmental groups said.

Instead of logging existing forests, the state and federal governments should be focusing on climate resilience, they said.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said Sabah should be protecting its forests instead of exploring them.

“This is outrageous. We are very disappointed that the ban has been lifted. What we should be doing is protect our forest and not allow for more logging,” she told The Malaysian Insight. 

While it is understandable that state governments are strapped for cash and logging is a way to generate income, Meenakshi said there are other avenues available. 

“We know that states are strapped for cash, but exporting logs is not the way forward. We appeal to the state government to reconsider. Work with Putrajaya to get more funds for forest protection. 

“There are international funds available for forest and biodiversity protection. What the Sabah government is doing is certainly not the right step.” 

She said what happened in Karak, Pahang when flood waters washed logs into the rivers and towns, should serve as a reminder to the government what uncontrolled logging does to the land. 

Heavy rainfall in the Klang Valley, Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Malacca also saw some areas flooding with water levels up to the roof. 

The recent flooding saw many environmentalist groups call on the government to prioritise climate change in its agenda. 

“They are not learning from this and being blinded by cash from logs. It is very inappropriate and wrong. 

“Instead of building climate resilience, Sabah is undermining its own resilience to extreme rainfalls.” 

Meanwhile, Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, president of Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia, warned that the lifting of the ban might lead to more environmental crisis due to increased logging activities to fulfil the export market. 

She also accused the state government of having no regard for people’s lives. 

“Mount Kinabalu will have another earthquake, Kundasang will have another landslide. People’s lives are so cheap to them.

“All this is for export. No country in the world wants to do it except Malaysia and only certain people make money out of this,” she said. 

The ban was enforced in May 2018 under the Warisan government. 

On December 21, Sabah chief forest conservator Frederick Kugan in a circular confirmed that the Limited Log Export programme, which allows eligible parties to export logs from Sabah, will resume on January 3, effectively lifting the ban.

The ban was lifted eight months after Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Mohd Noor’s announcement that the state will conduct a thorough study on the ban. – December 31, 2021.