He said this after former MB Mukhriz Mahathir said he was unaware of any billion ringgit compensation due to concession holders and had heard no such claims while in office.
Mukhriz was responding to Sanusi, who had earlier proposed giving replacement forests for these concession holders to harvest to avoid paying loggers compensation amounting to RM1 billion.
In a press conference here today, Sanusi said that compensation amount had now increased to RM1.5 billion, payable to 40 timber companies holding 131 logging concessions from the state government.
He said this situation came about after the previous government decided to halt logging in select areas of the Ulu Muda Permanent Forest Reserve on Aug 30, 2018.
Sanusi said the logging rights to these 40 companies were given for forests covering 22,098ha. The state received RM107.5 million in premiums from these concession holders, with another RM79.5 million unpaid.
Sanusi said the total area of gazetted forest reserves was 107,197ha.
He said to prevent Kedah from paying RM1.5 billion in damages, the Forestry Department had sent him a proposal to offer replacement forests for the companies to harvest.
“I did not say I’d open up new logging areas. I said I’d just consider this other option,” he said.
Sanusi said Mukhriz was “pretending” to not know about the logging rights issue as the Forestry Department had informed the state Earth and Natural Resources Committee, which had Mukhriz as chairman, on May 5.
“Mukhriz knows about this logging issue. But in this case, he is pretending to not know about it.
“I lead a government that handles issues head-on. I will not sweep matters under the carpet and pretend there are no issues at all, giving the impression that all is well under my administration.”
Sanusi said it was commendable that Mukhriz had declared a few more areas of the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve as untouchable by gazetting them as water catchment areas.
“But within that, there are approved areas for logging. And also, these are not virgin forests, but ones that have been harvested as far back as 30 years ago.
“This was decided by the government in power two weeks ago, not the government that I am running now. Some concessions were approved two years ago and some as far back as 10 years ago.”
Sanusi later used the analogy of a lazy farmer in alluding to Mukhriz’s leadership. He said a lazy farmer would only clear the path he walked on while ignoring the rest of his field, leaving it overgrown with weeds.
He said this undergrowth then became home for snakes, scorpions and other dangerous animals which would cause problems to the owner and its surroundings.
Sanusi said Mukhriz would then often look surprised when problems came up.
“The former MB keeps asking: ‘When did this problem happen?’ Yeah lah, when you are frequently jet setting, back and forth to Kuala Lumpur, you will be the last to know about such things.”
Separately, Sanusi also asked Mukhriz to resolve financial issues revolving around the Kedah Football Club, which he said was financially “sick”, before resigning as its president.
He said under Mukhriz’s presidency, the club had undertaken big financial commitments.
FMT has contacted Mukhriz for comment.
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