Illegal Logging

What the National Forestry Act says...

In 1993, the National Forestry Act was amended to provide for stiffer penalties for illegal logging and enlisting the Police and Armed Forces to assist the Forestry Departments in carrying out enforcement to curb illegal logging, timber theft and encroachments. For example, Army helicopters could be used to detect clandestine activities in forest reserves. The involvement of the army and police was to overcome a shortage of Forestry Department staff to carry out enforcement duty, apart from the fact that the former are trained and better equipped for law enforcement.

The amendments introduced a mandatory one-year jail term, with a maximum of 20 years upon conviction (from a previous maximum of 3 years). The quantum of fines was also increased 50-fold, from a ceiling of RM10,000 to RM500,000. The amended Act also allowed the offer of rewards to informers, if the information led to seizures of stolen logs. Verbally, we were told that in Sarawak, a fund of about RM1 million had been lodged with the Police to enable such rewards to be meted out and a quantum of 12.5% determined as the reward from the value of the logs seized and tendered for sale. These amendments enable the people to participate in being the "ears and eyes" of the government to help check illegal logging.

Another new feature of the Act is that the "burden of proof" is on the accused, not the prosecutor (said to be based on a French law). The introduction of these heavier penalties and stringent controls, plus tighter enforcement (through the establishment of crack teams within the state forestry departments which set up roadblocks to conduct spot checks, and routine patrol of sensitive areas) have resulted in reduced incidences, as can be seen from the attached table. The World Bank/WWF Malaysia March 2001 report (Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia), states that "The average number of forest crimes dropped from 223 for the period 1987-1993 to about 28 for the period 1994-1999". Another two studies in the same series disclosed that illegal logging in the states of Sabah and Sarawak are only about 1 % or less.

No. Of Illegal Logging Cases In Peninsular Malaysia According To Year (1987 – 2003)

Year	No. Of Cases	NOTES
1987	172	BEFORE Amendment to National Forestry Act 1984
1988	136
1989	233
1990	172
1991	512
1992	191
1993	149	AFTER Amendment to National Forestry Act 1984
1994	41
1995	34
1996	14
1997	22
1998	23
1999	26
2000	37
2001	15
2002	13
2003	21