Environmental criminals must be held accountable for natural disasters caused by human activities, says expert

KUALA LUMPUR: Making indiscriminate changes to land use status and carrying out logging activities without considering their impact on the environment are among the main causes of flooding in this country, according to an expert.

Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka Malaysia) president Prof Dr Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, who described the recent severe floods - that caught many people in Klang, Shah Alam and Hulu Langat in Selangor, as well as in Pahang and other parts of the country by surprise - as a "land tsunami”, said it was clear that large-scale deforestation, particularly in hilly areas located further upstream, was the main factor behind the occurrence of the devastating floods.