Hunting season proposed in forest reserves

KOTA KINABALU: The Forestry Department is urged to allow hunting at forest reserves in Sabah by creating a hunting season for local villagers to carry out the activity legally.

Nabawan assemblyman Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohd Yassin said that the proposal takes into consideration that rural folks have been hunting for generations.

He said that the Forestry Department can emulate foreign countries such as the United States of America that have fixed hunting periods.

“I plead with the Forestry Department since hunting activities are conducted as a source of income for our community for generations.

“I propose that a hunting season be set in places like in foreign nations, for example, in the United States of America. We ask the Forestry Department to give consideration,” he said at the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Monday.

Abdul Ghani said that the proposal was made following requests from the people at his constituency who asked to be allowed to enter and hunt at forest reserves.

“The people are always saying that they want to enter the forest reserve to hunt but the law does not allow them and if they enter, they would be trespassing,” he said.

Abdul Ghani who is Sabah Land Development Board chairman, also asked for an explanation on the status of villages that are in the forest reserves.

He asked if the villages in forest reserves will be taken out or not.

At the same time, he also asked the government through the Land and Survey Department to explain the status of the communal title that was created before this, especially in Nabawan.

“I want to ask about the status of the communal grants which are developed as acropolitan project,” he said.

Abdul Ghani also asked the government to give serious attention to infrastructure development issues such as those involving the Works Ministry, Rural Development Ministry, Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry and other relevant ministries.

He said that the implementation of construction projects or public infrastructure maintenance must be detailed and comprehensive in addition to systematically carry them out with the current needs.

“This is because the issue of infrastructure facilities such as roads, drainage system, buildings and public premises must be studied.

At the same time, problems such as natural disasters like the risk of flood, landslides and others are difficult to avoid and may be caused by constructions or implementation of public projects including the maintenance of public facilities that are not managed well, he said.

In his debate, Abdul Ghani also proposed to the government to focus on idle land disputes so that government implementing bodies will be given the opportunity to explore opportunities to develop idle lands in Sabah.

He said that according to research by Anim Agro Technology Malaysia, Sabah has the second highest idle land with 8,110.94 hectares.