KOTA BARU: The Kelantan government will not stop logging activities in the state as they are carried out in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated under the National Forestry Act, says Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

       He said each state was given a quota by the National Forestry Council and there was a condition where after the felling of trees, reforestation must be carried out in the area.

       He also said the trees had a certain age period, whereupon after a certain period, they had to be felled to avoid them falling onto, and destroying other growth.

       “For example, if the quota given for this year is 3,000ha, then we should not exceed the 3,000ha. Otherwise, we will be subject to action by the National Forestry Council. The quota is not determined by the state, but the National Forestry Council.

       “Logging provides revenue not only for Kelantan. In fact, almost all states depend on forest products, especially Pahang and Sarawak,” he told reporters after attending Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob’s 2022 New Year message event at Kota Darulnaim Complex yesterday.

       Mohd Amar said this when asked on an online petition for a moratorium on logging and to preserve forests as a bulwark against floods, which has received nearly 200,000 signatures.

       According to Bernama, the petition, titled “Henti Pembalakan & Kemusnahan Alam Sekarang”, was co-sponsored by the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and an environmental group, the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka).

       The petition was launched to urge the government to impose a moratorium on logging activities for the time being following the catastrophic floods.

       Mohd Amar added that logging activities were not the main cause of the floods in the state, as it had been a phenomenon that occurred almost every year.

       “Furthermore, no tree felling is allowed between October and December due to the monsoon season.

       ”Those that were swept by the floods (during the monsoon season) may have been felled before that period and stored at the Beta (log storage area),” he said and urged the public to not blame logging activities alone as the cause of the floods.