New Straits Times 26 Jun 14;
MALACCA: The state government will not approve any applications to de-gazette its permanent forest reserves, so as to maintain a clean and green environment.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said permanent forest reserves must be protected from any form of development which was detrimental to the ecosystem.
“I have instructed operators to cut down excavation and mining in forests to reduce the effects of deforestation in the state. There are only 12 permanent forest reserves totalling 5,093ha.”
“If forest reserve de-gazettement were to take place, it could cause a climate imbalance,” he said, adding that Malacca did not have alternative land to be gazetted as permanent forest reserves in the future. He said this in a written reply to Md Rawi Mahmud (BN-Tanjung Bidara) on the state’s forest protection efforts.
Idris said nine islands would be gazetted under the Wild Animals and Birds Protection Ordinance 1955.
