Chairman of the Sabah Backbenchers Club in the state legislative assembly Rahim Ismail was responding to Wong’s allegations raised in the report lodged at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya last week.
“It does not take a genius to understand the explanation by the Sabah chief conservator of forests Sam Mannan on helicopter logging in Sabah,” Rahim said in a statement.
“There is nothing technical or complicated about Sam’s clarification on helicopter logging. It was a straightforward and detailed explanation that even a layperson can understand.
“Political motivation is likely to be the motivation for Wong to file the report with MACC claiming Yayasan Sabah signed a lopsided deal with a timber company and questioned the helicopter logging method used.”
Rahim, who is also Pantai Manis assemblyman, said a government that had something to hide would not have given a lengthy and detailed response when queried on issues.
Instead of accepting the explanation, Rahim said, Junz is again trying to mislead the people by saying it is too technical and not a good enough response.
“He must have a very low opinion of his supporters, assuming that they would not be able to understand the explanation on helicopter logging given by the conservator of forests,” Rahim said.
“I am not surprised by his latest statement. He has a bad habit of making allegations without checking his facts, proving how consistent he can be in his attempt to demonise the Barisan Nasional government.”
Rahim, who was state agriculture minister, recalled that Sam had revealed there were two contractors appointed and retorted why Wong had only revealed one of them.
“Wong had even claimed 14 elephants were killed three months after the deal was signed in July 2013 in the Gunung Rara forest reserve area in Tawau.
“But the elephants were killed 4 years before the deal was signed,” Rahim said, calling it a clear sign that Wong did not check the facts “before shooting his mouth”.
In a statement yesterday, Wong had also suggested the offer price offered to a subsidiary company at RM65 per cubic metre was unfair.
In response, Rahim said Sam had already given the details on the pricing, explaining that prices were not as good as they are today and there was no helicopter operator at the time of the negotiation.
“If it is questioned that RM65 per cubic metre for Yayasan Sabah needs revision, apart from the automatic price escalation of 10% every year, compounded, there are provisions to allow changes, in prices subject to mutual consent.
“At the time of the negotiations some time back, prices were not as good as they are today and there was no helicopter operator, as they had left Sabah temporarily. There was no real world prices or costs to fall back on, since no operation was happening,” Sam had said in a statement on Friday.
Rahim added that Sam had also explained helicopter logging was introduced in 2004 and that Yayasan Sabah was allowed to harvest timber in areas beyond 25 degree slopes.
Original concession
The company mentioned by Junz, Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd, has been allowed to recommence helicopter harvesting on a ‘one-off’ basis on a 15,000 ha site that would be reverted into a totally protected area after three years.
The site also is a Class 2 (Commercial Forest Reserve) forest and is not in Maliau Basin as contended, Sam had said.
From the original concession area of 1.1 million ha, some 750,000 ha or nearly 75% of the Yayasan Sabah area had already been turned to totally protected areas. Almost all the virgin forests have been locked up for posterity.
It also comes with stringent criteria to follow, such as conditions to be set by the Maliau Basin Management Committee if old roads or landings were to be used in zones buffering fully protected sites.
“Maliau Basin is safe. It is being watched everyday,” Sam had said.
Rahim said the government, with its policy of protecting the forests in Sabah, agreed to the airborne system because of its minimal impact at 5% compared with 70% in conventional tractor logging or 35% in reduced impact logging with tractors.