Hard to beat tech-savvy team, illegal loggers

by FMT Staff

MIRI: “Naughty” illegal loggers and their tech-savvy “collaborators” are constantly outwitting Sarawak's enforcement agencies, Deputy Chief Minister George Tan said.

He said these collaborators used state-of-the-art telecommunication technology to escape the government's clutches.

“We have good land reserves and we have very good principles... but it is hard to catch these naughty people who are cutting down trees and clearing the land every now and then.

"Even with a helicopter, they somehow warn their people (on the ground) that we are coming," Chan said at the closing of a workshop on “Best Management Practices” for Sungai Miri River Basin Stakeholder Project here recently.

He said knowing this, the enforcement bodies should keep abreast of technological advancements and be serious about implementing policies that involved all sectors.

“As we progress and improve, we need more enforcers to implement our policies. This is something we have to work hard on...," he said.

He added that while the government was committed to minimising environmental degradation caused by human activities and development, “it was hard to bring the culprits to justice”.

"We know what is happening... we know these illegal activities may have contributed to the degradation of the environment such as erosion in some rivers in the state, such as the Rajang and Baram Rivers... but it is hard to catch the culprits," Chan said who was referring to the massive ecological disaster in Sarawak in early October.

Ecological havoc

The massive logjam disaster that stretched 250km of the Rajang River had adversely affected the livelihood of thousands, many of whom were innocent riverine folks.

This is the third such ecological havoc. The first disaster was at Ga’at in 2008 and the second at Sungai Tunoh last year.

State Land Development Minister James Masing has openly blamed the logjam on rampant illegal logging in the forests of Sungai Melatai.

Masing, who reportedly flew over the mountains of Ulu Melatai, said the logjam was caused by landslides and soil erosion resulting from uncontrolled logging.

He said the place resembled a “war zone”.

"Landslides and soil erosions have destroyed at least three hills in the area,” a news report quoted him as saying.