Rogue enforcement officers, illegal loggers plundering resources
Published on: Tuesday, November 25, 2014
KUCHING: The rampant illegal logging and smuggling of natural resources are fuelled by rogue enforcement officers engaging in an unholy alliance with a syndicate of illegal loggers.This, in essence, sums up Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem's sentiments about illegal logging which was plundering Sarawak's resources.Adenan, who recently declared an all-out war on illegal logging said he was unhappy with those department heads who claimed not to have sufficient manpower to tackle the issues.ADVERTISEMENT "We have (sufficient manpower) but we are not using it to the maximum, and so I don't want to hear that as an excuse, anymore," he said in his speech at the Civil Service Day 2014 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here Monday.Thus, he urged Sarawak Forest Department enforcement officers to be committed and competent in their job as they would be equipped with extra vehicles and also be armed while on duty.Adenan said recently, he had addressed the issue of illegal loggers who infiltrated two national parks in Sarawak, one of which was the State's largest protected peat swamp forest."This is a very serious issue as it involves Sarawak's priceless natural heritage, and how did this happen right under our nose?" he asked.ADVERTISEMENT He also wanted to know what action had been taken by the authorities, as well as what action was going to be taken to combat illegal logging and the smuggling of the State's natural resources.Hence, the Chief Minister said, a competent team was needed to go to the ground to investigate the situation and come up with concrete strategies against illegal loggers.
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He said the State government had stopped issuing new timber licences, and those holding logging licences had been warned to comply with prevailing regulations.Adenan also said the State government hoped to gazette at least one million hectares of forest in Sarawak for protection, adding with the increased number of national parks, it needed a more competent workforce with forestry expertise, as well as a larger pool of law enforcement officers. – Bernama