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Lim says Kedah MB not properly advised

Posted by admin

Thursday, 26 June 2008 09:09

CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday accused the Kedah government of working with timber concessionaires from Sarawak close to the Barisan Nasional in water catchment areas in the Ulu Muda forest reserve.

He said Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak should reconsider the idea in view of the link to BN.

"We hope he will reconsider because he is teaming up with these timber concessions from Sarawak which are closely-linked to BN parties."

He said it was ironic Azizan was doing so and that "perhaps he was not properly advised" on the matter.

"After winning power, to be working so closely with BN vested interests is something quite unexpected."

Lim said the DAP was opposed to the move as it would affect water resources in both Kedah and Penang.

He was speaking to the New Straits Times in Jakarta after a presentation at the 2nd World Peace Forum yesterday.

The controversy began after Azizan urged the Federal Government to allocate RM100 million annually or face the possibility of logging in water catchment areas in the state.

He had said that the state government was losing millions in revenue because they could not log trees for timber.

Azizan, who said that timber near the catchment areas was worth over RM16 billion, ran into criticism for suggesting that the Ulu Muda forest reserve be logged.

Among his fiercest critics was Lim who had said that logging in the area would lead to catastrophic effects, especially at the Muda Dam.

Meanwhile, he told the forum that globalisation was a better model for world peace than geopolitics.

"Globalisation creates ideas, the ability to acquire knowledge. Geopolitics decides whether or not we go to war." - NST

Comments (14) Add Comment

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written by Rashid, June 26, 2008 09:19:24

Lim, pay a visit to Kedah and talk to your fellow PR MB. No need for media bashing between PR boys. Secondly, Kedah is cash trapped bcoz Dollah declared war on them just like he has suspened all the projects in Penang, they need income to sustain the govt. May be they should be allowed little, very litte till Anwar topples the looters and helps the PR states.

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written by JC Tan, June 26, 2008 09:53:40

From what I see, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) only exist in name, major players within PR (DAP, PAS, PKR) do not see eyes to eyes.

They (DAP,PAS,PKR) are loosely bonded by DS Anwar Ibrahim, any minor crack surfaces would be greatly exploited by BN's media, and cause great stress to PR bonding.

I think it is time for Tok Guru LKS Karpal DS Anwar to sit down to form a better foundation. Otherwise, even if PR can form a new Federal Government "soon", I doubt it would last until next GE. ***SIGH***

Regards,
-JC Tan
Supporter of BN as strong oppositions

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written by cahaya, June 26, 2008 09:59:03

Plans to log the remaining forest in Kedah would mean the destruction of the last remaining water catchment forests and would in the end effect water sources for the paddy farming community in the rice bowl of Malaysia. These will worsen food security issues and the welfare of the farmers. . . . [Che Ani Mat Zain, Head, Badan Bertindak Petani MADA

If Kedah Menteri Besar has not been properly advised, perhaps Penang NGOs (especially those with expertise about Environment and Water) can offer good advisors to help Kedah. There must be better ways to generate income for Kedah without destroying the environment.

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written by DAL Wong, June 26, 2008 10:30:32

I think it's a case of brinksmanship being played out by the Kedah MB.
The cash strapped local PAS gov't knows that this will not go down well with the local amno heads as thy will not have a piece of the action.Their only recourse is to pressure the federal gov't to release the funds and hope the timber concessions will be around for them to rape, if and when they return to power.

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written by ahmadneil, June 26, 2008 14:08:46

Umno is staving them so they to slash and burn to get some revenue for the administration of the state.

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written by mikewang, June 26, 2008 18:00:15

This is an MSM report.
Take it with a pinch of salt and don't fall into BN trap.

Wait for confirmation from other independent online media.

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written by cllim123, June 26, 2008 22:43:38

It is good that the PR leaders can openly express their views in the open even if they do not agree with each other. It means there is healthy discourse. LGE, Nik Aziz and Nizar, it looks like your neighbour state is facing cash flow problem. That means they have to survive by taking drastic action. Azizan, you may look upon your neighbours in Perak, Penang and Kelantan for assistance. The last thing you want to do is to deforest. That is short term cash like dynamite fishing. It wont last 1 generation just like your MB post wont last 1 term.

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