Yesterday, the department’s director Sam Mannan dismissed claims that the world-famous Maliau Basin, where the forest reserve is located, was under threat, saying that it was safe, with measures put in place to protect the environment.
The response from the department followed Wong raising several issues regarding helicopter logging in the forest reserve, particularly its environmental impact, as well as claims that the state had entered into a lopsided deal with the concession holder.
Wong, who is also Likas assemblyman, said that Sam had failed to address why the lopsided “helicopter logging” deal was good for Yayasan Sabah.
“RM65.00 per cubic metre? We don’t really care if the helicopter logging contractor is one of the best in the region.
“We want Sam to give a thorough explanation on how this ‘lopsided’ deal will benefit Yayasan Sabah when it seems to benefit the contractor much more.
“It is ridiculous to even consider the deal even if the price was US$65.00, let alone RM65.00,” Wong said, adding that it would be wiser to just keep the forest reserve at steep areas untouched if the government could not secure a better deal.
Wong, who left DAP to join Warisan last year, also brought up the issue of Benta Wawasan, that Sam said was a portion of a logged area that would be converted into an oil palm plantation for 30 years as a means to generate alternative income and short term crops for Yayasan Sabah.
Wong however claimed that Sam had “conveniently” failed to inform the people how large that “portion” of Benta Wawasan was.
“The people of Sabah are not interested to know what the Sabah government has repeatedly boasted about on the (number of) “total protected areas” but instead how large the converted areas are,” Wong said.
“We want to know exactly how many acres in total of these licensed forest reserve areas have been converted to oil palm plantations.”
Wong also criticised Sam for not answering queries about the revenue from forest clearing via timber logging, before turning the land to oil palm plantations, and how it benefited Yayasan Sabah.
“Is it true that Benta Wawasan declared merely a RM5 million profit after tax last year? Who are the contractors and (what are) the companies’ names?
“Sam stressed that Yayasan Sabah depended on timber revenues, so I believe he won’t mind informing the public how much Yayasan Sabah has earned from both the ‘helicopter logging’ and ‘Benta’ deals all these years.”
Wong also demanded a straightforward answer from Sam to the following question: “Has any of the forest reserves been de-gazetted and later land titles issued to private contractors/individuals? Yes, or no?
He also said he looked forward to the “enlightening” answers from Sam soon.
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