By appointing Awang Tengah to be the chairman of the Special Committee to fight illegal logging, has Adenan compromised his combat against illegal logging in Sarawak?

04-03-2015


While many, including the opposition, applauded Adenan for his action against illegal logging activities in the past one year, the recent appointment of Awang Tengah to head the Special Committee to Fight Illegal Logging is seen as a set-back to the Government’s campaign to combat illegal logging.

I am not alleging that Awang Tengah has any connection to those illegal loggers.  However, it is his track record in handling the logging industry that casts doubt on his ability to combat illegal logging activities effectively.

For more than 10 years, Awang Tengah has been the Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment, the minister in-charge of the logging industry.  It is his duty, as the Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment, to stop illegal logging activities.
   
Therefore, the need to set up a Special Committee to Fight Illegal Logging, by itself, is a testimony of the failure on the part of the Ministry to curb illegal logging activities.  The biggest irony of appointing Awang Tengah to head this Special Committee is that, it is just duplicating a position for Awang Tengah to do the same job that he has failed miserably to do as the Minister concerned.

Illegal logging has been a long outstanding problem in Sarawak for the past decades.  The Opposition, the NGOs and even the Auditor-General have brought up the rampant illegal logging activities in Sarawak but Awang Tengah has denied that illegal logging problem is serious in Sarawak.  

In fact, as recent as in the year 2010, Awang Tengah claimed that losses suffered by the government due to illegal logging stood at 0.01 per cent of the RM731 million in revenue collected from timber taxes and royalties, ie. the loss of revenue to the Government due to illegal logging is as low as RM73,100.00.

Awang Tengah also claimed that the situation was under control and losses suffered by the Government very minimal.

After Adenan became the Chief Minister of Sarawak in year 2014 and his announcement to fight illegal logging, the MACC announced that the estimated loss of revenue to the State Government due to illegal logging is RM100 million. 

Why in the short span of 4 years (2010 to 2014), the loss of revenue to Government due to illegal logging can increase from RM73,100 to RM100 million, an exponential increase of 1360 times?

It is either the Minister in-charge was previously sleeping on his job or when Adenan became the Chief Minister, there is a sudden 1000-fold surge in illegal logging activity.  I am of the view that the former is the case.

Given the horrible track record of Awang Tengah, I am of the view that he should be the last person to be appointed to head the Special Committee.  Awang Tengah has failed in his capacity as the Minister in-charge to curb or to even detect the seriousness of illegal logging.  What can he as the head of the Special Committee do on fighting illegal logging that he as the Minister cannot do?

Why was Awang Tengah chosen by Adenan to head the Special Committee?  Why is Adenan not heading the Special Committee himself?  Is there resistance within the BN against Adenan’s campaign to combat illegal logging?  Is Adenan stepping aside from spearheading the charge against illegal logging? 

The ultimate question is:  Will all these clamour by Adenan against illegal logging become flash in the pan?



Chong Chieng Jen
MP for Banda Kuching
ADUN for Kota Sentosa
DAP Sarawak Chairman

Press Release

DAP Sri Aman today was visited by folks from Seduku, Lingga.

They approached Mr Leon Donald and complained about their land pitifully compensated by the Government. Their land is in Pulau Seduku, Lingga which is being changed into a National Park. 

Puan Johrah binti Abu Bakar and Mr Pon bin Bakar, the owners of the land who holds the land in trust for his siblings said his 5acre land has been passed on thru generations from their forefathers amd they were gracious enough to allow many settlers to make their houses on their land.

Now when the Government compensated them, the house owners(Squatters) got more than 50K each as compensation however the landowner Mr Pon was only given 7k.

This has led to the unhappiness of Mr Pon and his brothers because it is clearly unfair from their perspective that their land be compensated a mere 7K only thus forcing them to seek help from the DAP Sri Aman. They have made 2 police reports to seek the police's help in investigating the case.

'I will write to the Superintendent of Land & Survey Sri Aman to ask on the reason for the meagre compensation to Mr Pon's family. I will also seek to know on behalf of their family on how did the office arrive to such a measly sum for 5 acres of land', asserted Leon Donald DAP Sarawak Vice Chairman.



Mdm Johrah bt Abu Bakar and her siblings holding a copies of the police report. 

Press Release

Illegal loggers in Sri Aman putting shame to Adenan's enforcement plans

Illegal loggers have infuriated locals in Sri Aman causing them to seek DAP Sri Aman's help to highlight their problems to the authorities.

The Tuai Rumah leading the group, Mr Usop Kinyang has made 5 police reports & countless complaints to the Forest Department ever since the encroachment of their NCR land happened. 

The areas of Melaban, Kelingkang area which recently been gazzetted into a National Park were not spared by the illegal loggers. At Bukit Tabung, thousands of their ancestral Rubber trees were destroyed, and to date there has been no compensation paid to the landowners that owned the rubber trees.


'the loggers, according to their PL licenses were supposed to extract timber from the Simunjan area, which is many many kilometres away from Abok. How can they encroach our NCR land and freely extract timber when we cannot', said a very irate TR Usop.

To add insult to injury, it was alleged that the officers from the Forest Department did came once to check after numerous complaints but amazingly until today, no action has been taken.

'This action of stealing timber from Dayak NCR lands must stop. The water catchment area for the 5 villages in Abok where they get their water source from, is heavily polluted and the NCR lands ransacked of valuable rubber. 

This brazen action by illegal loggers, the amazing silence & inaction by the authorities involved is a huge slap in the face to the Chief Minister's effort to stop the rampant timber corruption.

I will be writing a letter to the Chief Minister about this matter as soon as possible so that swift action be taken against the perpetrators' said Leon Donald DAP Sarawak Vice Chairman.





At the logging camp (in the background) near Melaban, Abok. Sri Aman Division.


The illegal timber taken from NCR lands in Melaban, Abok



TR Usop Kinyang & his anak buah showing in the background Bukit Tabung, his ancestral NCR land planted with rubber trees all cut down by illegal loggers.


Leon talking to TR Usop (black shirt) about the situation at Bukit Tabung, Abok

Press Release

Sri Aman folks will be expecting a visit from the Prime Minister tomorrow morning. He is expected to officiate the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the New Sri Aman Hospital. 

However, his visit has gotten mixed feelings from the folks of Sri Aman town. Bennet Empi, retired headmaster said that he is embarassed that the BN leaders had to invite Najib to do groundbreaking. 'They should have invited the PM to officiate the completion of the Hospital instead instead of wasting his valuable time doing the groundbreaking.'

Leon Jimat Donald, DAP Sarawak Vice Chairman added 'the people of Sri Aman has been given witness to too many ground breaking ceremonies of the hospital and we are clearly not happy with these time wasting events, what we want to see is the actual construction of the hospital. And until today there has not been any answer from the Government on why the utilisation of the said construction is on only 14 acres out of 50 acres of land?'

'The Government has been quiet on this and the people of Sri Aman is asking why are we being shortchanged, we deserve a bigger hospital!' 
'By inviting the PM to officiate the groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital, we the citizens of Sri Aman hope that the BN Government is really serious in building the hospital & not merely fishing for votes due to the incoming election'

Press Release

The folks of 5 longhouses of the Melugu Quarry have ended their blockade at the old stone quarry site next to Bukit Kelambi, Melugu Pangil.

Spokesman for the Mr Spencer ak Sungkui & TR Wilthon Timbang has said that the company has agreed to bow to their demands of compensating these longhouses by building a new gravity feed water piping system as the current on will be demolished when the quarry starts operating.

'We are thankful to DAP Sri Aman and especially to Leon Jimat Donald for advising & helping us to reach an amicable agreement with the quarry operators. They will only be operating in the Kerong Pedalai area which is state land remnants of the old JKR quarry. The company has agreed to not encroach our NCR lands which is outside the said quarry area,' they said in a statement today.

'I am relieved that the villagers and the company have found an amicable solution. And so today they have invited me for a thankgiving barbeque together with a membership handover ceremony where these tuai rumah and 'anembiaks' have applied to join DAP.