Reports that the Perak Government allows logging in the Royal Belum State Park are untrue.
Perak Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Ahmad Faisal Azumu said this during a media conference following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the state government and Ambank Islamic Bank at the State Secretariat Building, Ipoh on Wednesday, November 7.
Faisal pointed out that Royal Belum has been gazetted as a state park and may be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“There’s no logging activity at all by the state government at Royal Belum. And neither is there evidence of illegal logging activity, as well,” he told reporters.
“The state is committed to looking after the 130-million-year-old forest reserve and would not allow any logging activity therein,” he assured.
The MB stated that a lot of funds are required to maintain the park and protect it against encroachment by poachers and illegal loggers. The state, he said, is looking for ways to generate income without resorting to the felling of trees.
“One way is to increase the entrance fee to Royal Belum. The forest reserve is four times the size of Singapore. We only have 12 rangers to look after the entire jungle. This is grossly inadequate,” he insisted.
“I’ve been misquoted,” he stressed, in obvious reference to Mariam Mokhtar’s article “Royal Belum is a Cronies’ Paradise” (Ipoh Echo Issue 292).
Incidentally, Putrajaya has allocated RM60 million to maintain the state’s natural treasures, including Royal Belum.
