ALOR SETAR, Sept 3 — Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar has thanked the Kedah government for stopping logging activities in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
He said that it was among the good news he received from Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir today as the ministry had sought the cooperation of the Kedah government to gazette the reserve as a water catchment area.
“It is a very good decision to prevent the sensitive area from becoming polluted and the ecosystem damaged,” he told a press conference after receiving a briefing on the Sungai Kedah/Anak Bukit Flood Mitigation Project.
Besides the state, Perlis and Penang also depend on the reserve for raw water supply.
Environmentalists have long complained about the logging activities in the area. — Bernama
