RAUB, Jan 29 — The Pahang government is serious about tackling illegal land encroachment activities in the state, including taking perpetrators to court directly, stressed Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
Wan Rosdy, however, admitted that encroachment of forests is still occurring, even though the responsible agencies are taking appropriate action to curb such activities.
“Even though we control and monitor, it (land encroachment) is still occurring. That’s why we are very serious and take them to court directly. No longer issuing compounds (as we did previously).
“This stern action is not to shame or humiliate, but to serve as a lesson to those who do unethical activities, which affect the image of the state government,” he told reporters today.
He said this after launching the Reforestation in the Pahang Permanent Forest Reserve Project by Syarikat Amat Bayu Sdn Bhd, at the Tersang Forest Reserve, here today.
He added that the action (taking perpetrators directly to court), which was carried out last year, seemed to have reduced illegal land encroachment activities in recent times.
He said this when asked to comment on the landslide incident, involving an illegal vegetable farm in Cameron Highlands on early Friday morning, which killed five people, including a Myanmar woman.
In another development, Wan Rosdy said that the reforestation project in Pahang started in 2000, with an area of 404.69 hectares, and until last year, the area of the project had increased to 34,342.22 hectares.
As for the implementation of the reforestation project, launched today, Wan Rosdy said that it was implemented by Syarikat Amat Bayu Sdn Bhd, involving an area of 20,303.27 hectares, for 60 years.
“I hope this project can serve as an example of good reforestation project management, and complies with the existing regulations. Through this project, areas which have been deforested or degraded due to natural disasters or exploration can be restored,” he said. — Bernama
