Melaka CM furious after trees felled

MELAKA: MelakaChiefMinister Datuk Seri Idris Haron is fuming over the arbitrary action of a property developer who chopped down 17 trees, some of them about 30 years old.

“Stern action will be taken against the developer,” Idris said, adding that the developer had acted in self-interest without a care for the state government vision of a Melaka Green Technology City.

The trees, of the palm and Eugenia papillose varieties, were felled yesterday in Melaka Raya, apparently between 10.30 am and 6 pm, with the use of a skylift.

Idris said the developer had violated local government bylaws and could be blacklisted if found guilty.

“The developer had not planted the trees that were felled. How can he chop them down?” he told reporters after attending a meeting of Asean cultural ministers at a hotel in Bandar Hilir here yesterday.

Idris said the state executive council had decided that no tree should be chopped down without approval.

“It had been decided what type of tree, size and quantity can be felled, and also with the approval of the state government or state executive council,” he said.

He said the maximum penalty would be imposed on the offender and the developer would have to plant saplings where the trees had been felled.

Meanwhile, Historical City of Melaka mayor Datuk Zainal Hussin said the developer’s action had cost the city council about RM450,000 in losses and that the developer would be prosecuted.

The developer would also be ordered to plant trees at the designated spots and blacklist the sub- contractor who had felled the trees, he said. — Bernama