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| Logs seized by the Forestry Department at the logging site. |
The meeting is also expected to discuss effort to pressure the state government and the Forest Department not to renew the permit of two companies to extract timber from the area.
Meanwhile illegal logging activities near the Bengoh Resettlement Scheme (BRS) in Kampung Semadang in Penrissen has been suspended since a week ago following the raid by the State Forestry Department last Tuesday.
The illegal logging activities has received strong protest from the people of the nearby five villages, namely Kampung Semadang, Kampung Giam Baru, Kampung Giit, Kampung Grait/Nyiru, Kampung Skio.
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| The logging tracks causing water pollution in the nearby river. |
Kampung Semadang headman Samson Mangang said the task force committee meeting will be attended by the five nearby villages, whose NCR land affected by the logging activities together with representatives from four villages suppose to be relocated at BRS.
The Star made a visit to the site of the illegal logging activities yesterday and found that all works at the logging site has been suspended but the vehicles and machines of the logging company were still at the site.
A camp has been constructed at the site while construction of timber tracks leading to the forest where the logging activities will be carried out has began some few meters.
Several logs which are seized by the Forestry Department were also seen lying at the site.
A Rela member (identity withheld) who was guarding the machines and the vehicles left at the site said the works (building of logging tracks) he has been suspended since Tuesday last week.
Last Tuesday a team of enforcement officers from the State Forestry Department raided the place but returned empty handed as none of the workers of a logging company were at the timber camp during the raid.
The enforcement team were despatched to the site after the department received report about the illegal logging activities taking place in the area by a company who claimed that they have the licence to log the timber from the area.
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| The timber camp. |
As such the extraction of timber by the company in the said forest area was illegal but the villagers were questioning the Forestry Department on why was the vehicles and machines used by the company for the illegal activities were not confiscated.
The illegal logging activities started about two weeks ago and prompted about 40 villages from the going to be BRS settlers staged a protest at the site last Monday and put up a notice giving the logging company 48 hours to stop the logging activities and leave the site.
The notice read: “Perhatian!! Diminta hentikan aktiviti-aktiviti pembalakan di kawasan ini (BRS). Anda diberi tempoh 48 jam untuk berundur sebelum peperangan meletus di hutan ini. Arahan bakal penduduk BRS” .
The site is being guarded by several Rela members.
A Rela member met at the camp said he has been working there for past eight days but said it was his last day at work.
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| Notice put up by the villagers to show their protest against the logging activities. |
He also claimed that he was harassed by a group of villagers who came to the site.
“They were drunk and uttered unpleasant words at me. I explained to them that I was only working for the company and after a while they left without hurting me or creating any problem here,” he said.
A suspended forest guard, a former councillor, two teachers and two persons from Kampung Semadang were among the culprits trying to promote two companies to carry out logging activities in the area while the financier who is also the real ‘towkay’ is a Chinese known as Lau.
The affected villagers were angry with the logging and said they were never being consulted and had never given their consent to any individual or companies to log timber on their NCR land.
Kampung Semadang had an emergency meeting recently and chaired Samson and also attended by penghulu of Penrissen area Rimong Sutur to discuss the matter.
“At the meeting the villagers unanimously agreed to go all out against the activities which they fear would pollute the rivers and forest, furthermore the area is a water catchment area,” said Samson.
Samson said he and the villagers had never given their consent to anybody t9o log timber on their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land and were surprised the former councillor, two teachers and two of his village men were involved with the activities.
“During our recently, which was also attended by Penghulu Rimong Sutur the villagers has expressed their strong protest against the logging activities on their NCR land.
“Thus, we called on the authorities to stop the logging activities in our forest,” added Samson.
The group had their ‘secret’ meeting at a seafood restaurant at Rock Road here on May 12 this year. The meeting was attended by seven persons and chaired by a teacher who claimed he and the suspended forest guard are joint ownership of a company given the ‘licence’ to log the timber in the area.
But sources said the company is registered under the teacher’s wife name and the son of the forest guard.
The meeting was also attended by the former councillor, Kampung Giam Asal headman, a Rela chief and two other persons from Kampung Semadang who claimed themselves committee members of Kampung Semadang Co-operative.
The ‘meeting’ was minuted by another teacher and signed by the teacher who chaired the meeting, who also claimed that he is the license of the company.
At the meeting the group has agreed to extend invitation to Penghulu Rimong, Penghulu Frederick Kenek (penghulu Serumbu area), headmen and the JKKK secretary of Kampung Semadang, Kampung Danu, Kampung Giam Asal, Kampung Giam Baru and Kampung Giit and chairmen of the six villages’ cooperatives to attend their next meeting.
Samson said in the past the former councillor was very vocal about the logging activities in the village forest and he was even appointed by Kampung Semadang people to head the task force to protest against the logging activities.
He had even lodged a report to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) with regard to the logging activities last year.
But of a sudden he became the promoter of the logging activities and the villagers has called on MACC to investigate his involvement as well as the other individuals and the Forestry Department officers responsible in approving the logging activities in our NCR land and forest.
Kampung Semadang is a Bidayuh village along Jalan Puncak Borneo about 40km from here, is where the four villages affected by the Bengoh Dam will be resettled.
Samson said the villagers will act immediately and will resort to put up blockage to prevent the logging activities and to stop the company bring out the timber.
“We are not going to allow the logging activities in our forest and on our NCR land and we will take the necessary action if the company insist on continuing with their activities,” said Samson.
The villagers has also pressured Mambong MP Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit and Bengoh assemblyman Dr Jerip Susil to use their influent to stop the logging activities.
Meanwhile Kampung Danu, Kampung Giam Baru, Kampung Skio, Kampung Giit, Kampung Grait/Nyiru, Kampung Bengoh has joined the protest against the logging activities.
Kampung Giit headman Kidat Baon said the people of Kampung Giit and Kampung Grait/Nyiru were angry and strongly against the logging activities and wants the government to stop the logging activities immediately.
“There is not much timber in our area as most of the remaining land in our area were planted with fruit trees and I do not know what timber they are going to extract. Are they going to log our fruit trees?” asked Kidat.
Kampung Danu NCR land committee chairman Nigos Sinsai had said the villagers would not allow any activities related to timber extraction on land belonging to them.
Nigos said they will definitely protest any such attempt, including using their NRC land for the construction of logging tracks, adding this has been agreed upon by all the villagers during their meeting.
Nigos said the villagers had never given any green light to anybody or any company to extract timber in forests within their NCR land or build logging tracks through such land.
According to Nigos, the villagers had in fact told the company representatives that if the company insisted on logging in the area concerned, it would have to face the wrath of the villagers.
Dawos has blamed the state Forestry Department for what he term as creating issues in Mambong parliamentary constituency.
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| The machines left lying at the road site near to the logging site. |
As MP of the area, Dawos said he felt by allowing the areas to be logged out, the department was pitting him and the Barisan Nasional against the people.
He said logging is a very sensitive issue among the natives and it is already a major issue in his area that can turn the people against Barisan Nasional in the coming parliamentary election.
Dawos, who is Mambong MP, said in the first place timber licence should not have been issued in the area because it was a gazetted water catchment area.
According to him, logging is totally prohibited in the area because it will pollute the water. He said if all the prohibited activities were being done in the water catchment areas then there was no point protecting the quality of our water any more.
“If you allow logging in the area then we can do anything, we can go and throw poisons into the water as you like because government officers themselves are allowing this sort of things,” he said.
He said logging would cause sedimentation because loggers would also use oil and lubricants and when they threw these to the ground they ended up in the rivers.
He said it was “all stupidity not knowing how to manage the environment”.
“I am fed up with all this and I don’t care about election if this problem is not resolved. This thing has given me pain in the neck because the state government agency (Forestry Department) is creating the problem in the area,” he said.
Meanwhile Jerip is also concerned about the issue and is unhappy that the logging companies used his name to lobby for support from the affected villages and villagers.
The Public Health Assistant Minister advised the company to stop making use of his name and would not hesitate to take action if they continue to do so.
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