GEORGE TOWN, MAY 22- A prominent environmentalist has blamed lame duck governance and loop holes in enforcement as main reasons for continued plundering of the country’s nature.
Hence, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president SM Mohamed Idris ( photo) calls on the new Natural Resources and Environment Minister G Palanivel to tighten the screws to take stringent and uncompromising action against the culprits ravaging Mother Nature.
“The action taken should serve as a lesson so that it is not repeated by others,” he said in a statement here today.
Based on increasing reports, the SAM president said the government machinery was currently not functioning effectively and efficiently to stop these illegal clearing of jungles and hill slopes.
“Highlands, hills and virgin jungles are wrecked and ravaged.
“The plundering continues due to weak governance,” said Idris.
For instance, he noted that in Penang, clearing of a hill near Bukit Gambier was visible even from the Penang Bridge.
But he said it appeared to have not caught the eye of the authorities soon enough to stop the obvious massacre of the hill.
Likewise in Cameron Highlands, he said despite complaints being lodged, the matter seemed to be unheeded until it was highlighted by the press.
Palanivel has announced that a special task force will be set up to tackle the widespread ravage of Cameron Highlands.
Expressing hope that the task force would stop blatant disregard for the law and nature, Idris however was skeptical on whether the task force would be effective to achieve its objectives.
He recalled on inept performance of various committees that were set up in the past to look into the issue of development on hills and highlands.
“What are the custodians of our environment doing? The ecosystems in the hills and highlands are fragile,” he said.
He reminded that the extent of damage to the environment was not just on loss of biodiversity, habitats, species, water resource and quality, but also on people, their livelihoods and wellbeing.
He lamented that decades of tragedies had yet to lead to effective action to prevent illegal activities and unsuitable development on hillsides.
Power with state governments
In some cases, he said the legal framework was filled with loopholes, while in other circumstances enforcement was too weak.
Despite attempts by the federal authorities to issue guidelines on highland development and taking efforts towards better monitoring, he said only state governments have the real power.
“The record shows that not much has changed in hillside development practices,” said Idris.
He said the country’s natural resources and quality of life would suffer from degradation with a weak governance system.
He said SAM hoped the Palanivel would take pro-active steps to protect, preserve and conserve the country’s natural resources and environment.
