(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): Selangor Mentri Besar,Datuk Haji Abu Hassan Haji Omar should freeze the lifting of logging of orang asli land at Pertak, Kuala Kubu Bahru, which is detrimental to the rights and interests of orang aslis in the area.
On October 27, 1996, the then Selangor Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib revoked the permit issued in April to K.O.A. Pertak Enterprise to log 158-hectare concession awarded to the batin (headman) of the Pertak Orang Asli village, after a devastating spate of flash floods and landslides.
Over the years, irresponsible timber concessions have contributed largely to the worsening flashfloods and landslides in the Ampang Pecah-Kuala Kubu Baru-Pertak-Fraser�s Hill area. Worst affected was Ampang Pecah, where three or four serious floods a year in the past two years have caused rentals and the resale value of houses to plunge.
It is most shocking that the revocation of these timber concessions have recently been lifted by the present Selangor State Government, in utter disregard to the rights and interests of the orang aslis in the area as well as to environmental quality control.
Datuk Abu Hassan should intervene to show that his concern for the rights and interests of the orang aslis and the environment are not less than those of his predecessor.
(19/3/98)