KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 ― The Orang Asli community in Kelantan today demanded state Forestry Department director Zahari Ibrahim apologise for accusing them of illegally extracting timber from forest reserves there.
The Network of Kelantan Orang Asli Villages (JKOAK) secretary Mustafa Along said Zahari must withdraw his “baseless” claim within seven days, failing which they will consider defamation action against him.
“Secondly, we want him to apologise publicly to the Orang Asli community in Kelantan because his statement on January 2 was damaging; where would the Orang Asli have the ability to sell timber? We can't even buy a car. You need lorries to transport timber out," he told reporters after submitting a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Last Saturday, the New Straits Times reported Zahari as accusing unnamed parties of encouraging the Orang Asli to encroach into forest reserves and set up a blockade to prevent forestry rangers from entering.
Mustafa today admitted to the blockade, which was set up on August 22 and maintained for 43 days, but said this was to prevent logging firms from entering the forest reserve.
He also contested Zahari's allegation, and insisted that the Forestry Department's ranger had been allowed through.
Mustafa added that they were not "encouraged" by any party to commit any crime, but was merely given legal advice by lawyers from the Bar Council.
The blockade has since been removed, after the loggers left the area, but he said they are ready to set it up again if more loggers return.
"Our purpose is only one: to protect our forest from being destroyed," he said.
The 28-year-old in turn accused the state Forestry Department of failing to enforce laws meant to protect the forest areas including mandating buffer zones between the logging area and rivers, as well as conduct checks to ensure logging companies do not extract timber in areas outside of the allowed areas.
Checks were only conducted after the blockade was set up, he further claimed.
"If we wait, what else will be left? The land would be bald, time waits for no man, we can't just sit idly by," he said.
There are about 16,000 Orang Asli in 17 rural posts across Kelantan, and Mustafa said all of the community were affected by the logging activities approved by the state Forestry Department.
