Uncontrolled logging causing mud floods, says Galas rep

The Gua Musang-Lojing road was hit by a mud flood.

GUA MUSANG: Uncontrolled logging activities to open up land for farming is the major cause of increasingly frequent mud floods here, says Galas assemblyman Ab Aziz Yusof.

He said logging activities have increased erosion in the hill slopes areas.

"The Gua Musang-Lojing road had never been hit by a mud flood, but it happened yesterday (Tuesday), forcing the road to be closed for hours.

"We are worried that an untoward incident may happen in future if the state government does do something about the mud flood problem immediately," he told reporters after viewing the affected area on Wednesday.

Ab Aziz said the Orang Asli at a few settlements, particularly Kampung Jedip at Pos Brooke, were no longer safe especially if it rained heavily for more than five hours.

"Continuous rain will cause the water level in the rivers to rise rapidly due to the absence of buffer zones as the hills have been stripped bare for agriculture purposes.

"I have raised this matter several times, especially during state assembly sittings but there has been no concrete solution to the problem implemented by the state government," he said. – Bernama