Short-term timber licensing via tender risk being abused — PKR Women vice-chief
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg to review immediately his decision on the issuance of short- term timber licences via open tender, in that such policy could be open to abuse.
PKR Women national vicepresident Voon Shiak Ni expressed her disappointment over the announcement by Abang Johari.
“This move is a mockery to and contradicts with the vision and mission of the late (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri) Adenan (Satem).
“We observe that such short-term licences are subject to extension – it is vague and (can) easily be subjected to abuse. Is the new chief minister trying to open the floodgates again for unscrupulous illegal logging activities?” she said in a statement yesterday.
On Thursday, Abang Johari announced that the short- term timber licences would be issued by Forest Department by open tender after the applications had undergone vetting by a special committee.
These short-term licences would only be issued for state land forest, as well as Native Customary Land ( NCL) Development Area and Native Communal Reserve that had been approved for development.
These l icences would be issued via open tender to ensure transparency.
In this regard, Voon pointed out that Adenan had on numerous occasions emphasised that the state government had put a stop in issuing new timber licences.
“He (Adenan) took the measure to curb illegal logging activities and safeguard the interest of the people of the state. He said ‘enough was enough’ because he wanted to preserve our forests and did not want to let anyone steal our timber.
“Datuk Patinggi Adenan’s bold decision was supported and highly approved by all Sarawakians,” she said.
As such, Voon viewed the granting of timber licences – be they long- term, short term or provisional leases – would lead to more deforestations and destruction of nature.
Additionally the government, she added, had yet to come up with and implement a good sustainable policy to conserve and preserve the state’s forests for the decades to come.
“Many of my fel low PKR members are from or have been to Baram – it is evident that most of the areas are ‘botak’ (bare) now. What are left of Mother Nature are miles and miles of barren land, with not a single tree around and where one has to walk under intense heat from the sun.
“Yet Sarawak is by nature, an equatorial rainforest,” she stressed.
Voon urged Abang Johari to ponder Adenan’s words: “It does not matter whether you are progovernment or pro- opposition, because what we want is the result. We want to save our forests.”
With the sudden decision to issue short-term timber licences via tender, she questioned whether or not the new chief minister was continuing Adenan’s legacy at all.
“To what extent the open tender serves to justify the granting of more timber licences?” she said, adding that via tender procedure, it was undeniable that only the existing large timber companies and their cronies could afford to place bid for the multi- million ringgit timber licences.