Kitingan, who is also state agriculture and fisheries minister, said the NCA was an agreement involving carbon credit trading that would benefit forest conservation and provide revenue to the Sabah government to develop the state.

“The NCA will protect our forests and generate income without cutting down a single tree, and does not need to be brought and tabled in the state legislative assembly because we already have legislation and a decision on this matter under the state government.

“For now, there is a revenue of RM110 million from forests but the forests have been destroyed by logging. Instead of cutting down RM110 million worth of timber, if we observe the NCA, we can get more than RM1 billion. Therefore, which is better?” he said in a video recording today.

Warisan president Shafie Apdal, the state opposition leader, had recently claimed that the 100-year NCA had caused two million hectares of forest in Sabah to be “handed over” to a foreign company based in Singapore.

Carbon credit trading is a market-based system designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, especially carbon dioxide, by creating a financial incentive to do so.

Jeffrey said forests in Sabah were protected under the Forest Enactment 1968 with strict monitoring by the Sabah forestry department. There was nothing that could allow the state’s forests to be destroyed arbitrarily.

“There are plans so that our indigenous people will benefit, including the villagers who have land. We will get them registered so that they can enjoy this NCA programme too,” he said.

He urged political leaders to stop using the NCA issue to gain support by spreading untrue information, and to work together with the state government to develop Sabah.