LOGGING is taking place in Bentong for a PR1MA housing project despite a moratorium on timber felling issued by the Pahang government and in contradiction to the menteri Besar’s denial that such activities were taking place in the state, Malaysiakini reported today.

The report said trees were being felled on 31ha of land on the hills near Taman Shahbandar Heights and the Kuala Raka Forest Reserve.

Bentong as well as Karak were scenes of destruction following heavy floods, which triggered landslides and left timber debris in their wake.

Post-disaster, on January 3, the Pahang Forestry Department issued a stop-work order suspending “the production of forest products and transportation of logs during the monsoon season and flood 2022”. 

DAP politicians, however, alleged that logging continued. Assemblymen Lee Chin Chen (Bilut) and Chow Yu Hui (Tras) said residents of Taman Shahbandar Heights had complained about such activities in the forest near their homes.

Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail denied the claims and demanded that the assemblymen  furnish proof to back up their allegations .

Malaysiakini reported today that a notice board at the logging site had sported a logging permit and confirmed that state land was being cleared for PR1MA housing, a federal programme to build affordable homes.

The notice board and permit were removed after the residents visited the site, the report said.

Bentong MP Wong Tack was concerned the deforestation would lead to more severe bloods in Bentong.

He urged the state government to clarify when the forest reserve land was degazetted to become state land.

Five people at a chalet resort died in the floods in Bentong last month. A six-year-old boy and the wife of the resort owner were among the five who were swept away by the water. – January 28, 2022.