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 5 October 2002
New guidelines for logging proposed
By NICK LEONG
PUTRAJAYA: The National Forest Council has given all states three months to
study new guidelines for logging or propose alternatives.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Government
wanted to change the present system to better protect forests and ensure a more
efficient method of logging.
“We want to protect the forests which are not just rich in timber, but also
biodiversity,” he said after chairing the council meeting yesterday.
Asked to elaborate on the proposed guidelines, Abdullah said the yardstick with
which a tree could be logged previously was the size of its girth.
“But this does not work because sometimes trees of a certain size stand a
better chance of growing even bigger. If we chop them down, we deny them the
chance to grow even bigger.
“There are also some trees which will not grow beyond a certain size. If we do
not chop them down, they might die and become valueless,” he said.
He said the council would enforce Section 15(2) of the National Forestry Act,
under which an illegal logger could be fined up to RM500,000 and jailed 20
years.
He said the illegal logger would also have to pay the Government up to 10 times
the royalty, premium or cess of the stolen logs.
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