MACC starts probe into logging in Sik

Eyesore: A dronepic showing the hills of Bukit Enggang stripped bare due to logging activities done without an EIA report. — ZAINUDIN AHAD/The Star

ALOR SETAR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has begun investigation into the logging at the Bukit Enggang forest reserve in Sik which was carried out without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

MACC deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki said its office in Kedah had been directed to investigate the matter.

“After seeing the press reports, we have begun the investigation,” Azam told The Star yesterday.

Asked if the probe would involve allegations of logging in other forest reserves, Azam said it would look into Bukit Enggang first.

Kedah MACC director Datuk Mohd Fauzi Mohamad promised that all areas of concern would be probed.

“While our investigation will focus on any corruption or malpractice involved in the tender process, the absence of the EIA report on the logging will also be probed,” he said.

On Monday, The Star reported that sources had confirmed that the logging of over 500ha of forest reserve was carried out without an EIA.

The logging caused muddy run-offs in the surrounding area and contaminated the drinking water of villagers.

A stop-work order on the logging was issued by the Department of Environment’s (DoE) Environmental Quality director-general on Jan 5.

Bukit Enggang’s Save the Community’s Water committee chairman Mohd Sobri Ramlee said MACC officers from Sungai Petani had met him for details.

“I have given them all the details which we have compiled on the issue, including the water contamination and EIA report,” he said.

State Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Badrol Hisham Hashim said the DoE should also look into other areas whether there had been an EIA, such as the logging in the Ulu Muda forest reserve.

“The state, including the mentri besar, is concerned about the issue and both the DoE and the Forestry Department could help us see if standard operating procedures have been adhered to,” he said.

Questioning how the logging could have been carried out without an EIA, Sahabat Alam Malaysia honorary secretary Meenakshi Raman said it was a blatant case of non-compliance.

Malaysian Nature Society’s Kedah secretary FK Phang welcomed the MACC’s investigation, describing it as long overdue.