[709] Of logging in Hulu Langat, Khir Toyo and Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd

I’ve been following news on Hulu Langat logging with great interest for the past few days. Locals there allege that logging activity is occuring within the boundary of a nature reserve. State government however insists otherwise and goes as far as saying that the trees fell there are on private property.

One reason for my interest is Selangor’s ugly reputation in environmental care (tag). I still remember what happened to a nature reserve in near Shah Alam with the state government’s consent. This case in Hulu Langat might strike an awful resemblance with that of the reserve near Shah Alam.

The question that needs an answering right now is obviously the status of the area. Who is right – the locals or the state government?

If it is the locals, the state government would be hard pressed to find a scapegoat or two all over again. In the case of the reserve near Shah Alam, if I recall correctly, the developers were charged of several offences but the government officials that approved the development essentially got away. If the logging in Hulu Langat occured within the boundary of another reserve, like what had occured at the reserve near Shah Alam, then, who approved it?

If it is the state government is right, then there is no case at all and the loggers should be allowed to continue their work.

But if the logging activity is done within the reserve, when the approval was given out?

A Google search reveals that an approval for logging activity in Hulu Langat was given on April 2001 to a firm named Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd. I however am not sure if the 2001 approval is related to the area in question currently but according to Bernama, the reserve itself was declared as a “Heritage Park” on August 27, 2005.

Through TV3, we know that the loggers are Fungsi Mewah Sdn Bhd – the same company that received the logging permit in 2001. This connection might suggest that the alleged logging within the reserve was approved in 2001. If all assumptions stand, it’s odd how nobody within the government remember about the concession when they declared the area as a reserve. A sign of incompetency perhaps?

Of interest, Google seach reveals that Fungsi Mewah has several interesting connections with Selangor Chief Minister Khir Toyo.

Whatever the answer is, the state government has ordered a stop to the loggers. But according to TV3, the loggers are ignoring the order. Bernama confirms this. Fungsi Mewah alleged connections with Khir Toyo might have contributed to the firm’s audacity to ignore the Chief Minister’s order.

But then, if the logging is done on private property as the Chief Minister has mentioned, why issue stop order in the first place? Odd, isn’t it?