In a report by The Star, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department pointed out that Pahang and Perak had taken up several suggestions by the Federal Government to gazette the land.
“Some states are progressing well, but Kelantan, not really,” Low was quoted by the English daily as saying.
Low, who oversees a Cabinet committee on indigenous land rights, was commenting on two blockades set up by the indigenous community in Pos Tohoi and Pos Simpor to protest against rampant logging activities in the area.
The Kelantan Forestry Department however later clarified that the logging carried out in the area was legal and did not involve Orang Asli reserve land.
The state government has since ordered an immediate halt to logging activities in the area until further notice.
Low opined that the blockade was set up as the Orang Asli had no other means to express their rights or consult with the Kelantan government.
“The state needs to be responsible and start talking to them,” The Star reported Low as saying, adding that the Federal Government was powerless to direct Kelantan to do so.
The daily also spoke to Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) Executive Director Cynthia Gabriel, who said logging in Kelantan was pushing both the state and Orang Asli “to an unsustainable point.”
Gabriel said what was going on right now was the passing of the ball from the federal to the state.
“The Federal Government and Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob need to meet to discuss framing stricter policies for sustainable forest management,” she said.