During the state legislative assembly sitting, which concluded on Wednesday, Wong had questioned the rationale behind the exercise and even went as far as accusing the government of doing so just to look good on paper.

“Junz Wong must learn that the objective of changing the status of forest reserves was to address long-outstanding problems previously not addressed,” said Ramlee.

“This included gazetting state lands long occupied by earlier settlers for religious use, such as for churches and for the purpose of restoring degraded and burnt forests.”

Ramlee said with better technology, it is now known that even logged- over lowland forests still harboured rich biodiversity and would regenerate and restore itself over time, especially through best forest management practices.

Ramlee therefore wondered why Wong, who is the assemblyman for Likas, had closed a blind eye to the massive replanting of thousands of acres with a wide range of tropical wood species within the previously logged area throughout the state.

“And why all the suspicion and doubts by Junz Wong over the sincerity of the government to reclassify forest reserves in Sabah?

“He claimed he wanted to know more in order to get to the bottom of these issues. But is this the quality of a true leader who simply hurls accusations without checking his facts?”

Ramlee also said Wong, who is Parti Warisan Sabah vice-president, should reflect upon his own misconduct on several occasions instead of accusing others of disgraceful and questionable behaviour.

Wong, Ramlee stressed, should tread carefully when pointing fingers and accusing other assemblymen of conduct unbecoming.

“People have not forgotten that in early 2014, Junz Wong manipulated a young girl to lodge a false police report claiming that she had been robbed and assaulted at the Suria Sabah shopping centre,” recounted Ramlee.

“This news turned out to be false because the girl admitted that no such assault occurred.

“However, the damage was done because the earlier allegation went viral, causing unnecessary fear among shoppers and impacting businesses at the shopping centre.”

Ramlee said people had also not forgotten the time Wong claimed earlier this year that the Sabah government had converted hundreds of thousands of acres of forest reserves into oil palm plantations.

“It turned out that the accusations were not true. I remember Junz Wong was taken to task during the last assembly sitting in April for not checking his facts before making the allegations.”

Ramlee, who is also Bugaya assemblyman, said Wong was up to his mischief again when he claimed in June this year that some 3,000 Chinese tourists had cancelled their trips to Sabah because of the proposed tourism tax.

Fortunately, Ramlee said, the Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents clarified the matter and said the allegations were not true.

“And the thousands of Chinese tourists we see flocking to Sabah monthly is proof that Junz Wong is not only an alarmist but a liar,” he said.

Ramlee said Junz had a knack for making claims based on what was posted on social media, thus causing dissemination of disinformation.

“Junz Wong should not get offended when people say his statements are misleading because he has a track record of making them based on hearsay, social media or on what a friend of a friend hears, which later is found to be untrue,” Ramlee said.

“So now I want to ask whose behavior is really disgraceful and totally unacceptable?”