IPOH, July 24 — Logging near Orang Asli settlements in Pos Kemar, Gerik may be temporarily halted once Perak forestry department officials check on claims that the activity has polluted the river.
The department’s director Datuk Mohamed Zin Yusop said that the enforcement unit will conduct an immediate check in the affected area to identify what has led to the contamination.
“The department will make an immediate review of the area and if needed, we will temporarily stop the logging activity to identify what has caused the river to become murky, as claimed by the villagers,” he told Malay Mail.
On Tuesday, Orang Asli in Kampung Ralak, Pos Kemar said that their livelihood and way of life had been affected following constant logging activity.
The Orang Asli said that the logging activity, which has been ongoing since 2012, had affected the water quality of the river, which is the main water source for the villagers.
The villagers said that they had lost some of their fruit plantations, and that their ancestral burial ground had also been destroyed in the process.
Kampung Ralak, located about 35km south-east of Gerik, is one of 15 Orang Asli villages comprising about 5,000 people within a spread-out indigenous settlement known as RPS Pos Kemar.
The villagers here rely on the jungle for their livelihood. Plants are used for a variety of purposes, such as food, clothing, medicine and building materials.
Mohamed Zin said the logging project was carried out by a company name Syarikat Hayat Pelangi on Temmengor Sub-district State Land.
“The company received the approval to carry out logging activity across 1,900ha of land in 2008. The purpose of the land clearance was to start a rubber plantation.
“The project was stopped for a while after some Orang Asli protested, but has since resumed after the company had their licence renewed until August 15 this year,” said Mohamed Zin.
