IPOH, Feb 12 — Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu promised an environmental group today that it would act on their suggestions to preserve forests in the state.
“We have heard the calls and concern from Kuasa (Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam). The suggestion raised by them in preserving the forest is not much different with the spirit and hope of the state administration.
“We welcome and accept all the ideas and suggestions made by them,” he told reporters after launching Movie Animation Park Studios new business model here.
Earlier, Kuasa president Hafizudin Nasarudin said that Perak should hold public consultations like Selangor when planning to remove forest reserve status from any land.
In their meeting with the Ahmad Faizal today, Kuasa submitted several suggestions on how to preserve forest in the state, namely protecting forest reserves, avoid degazettement of forest reserves, replace forest reserves which have been abolished, stop big scale forest farming development and take legal action on illegal encroachment.
Ahmad Faizal said that the state government will be meeting Kuasa and several other environmental groups on regular basis to discuss these matters.
“We hope through these meeting the interest of the environmental groups and the state government can be achieved without involving any further controversy,” he said.
A Pakatan Harapan lawmaker previously lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to demand the state explain why it awarded a 400-hectare land concession to a newly-formed private company.
The private company is said to have been awarded concession of two forest reserves, namely Kledang Saiong and Bukit Kinta, for forest farming development projects.
