AN online petition for a moratorium on logging and to preserve forests as a bulwark against floods has received nearly 200,000 signatures, making it the most-signed petition on the platform Change.org

The petition, titled Henti Pembalakan & Kemusnahan Alam Sekarang, was co-sponsored by Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) and environmental group Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka).

Abim president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said it was time the government recognised that flood disasters are a direct result of climate change, with logging as a major contributor.

“Abim emphasises that the current situation is proof our country is facing a worrying phase of climate change that requires immediate action.

“It must be stressed that widespread logging activities are a main contributor to climate change.

“It is imperative that forests are protected, and even increased, if we are to deal with the impact of climate change,” Faisal said in the petition.

He is also coordinator of the Malaysian Interfaith Climate Change Network (MICCN).

The petition calls for a moratorium on all logging activities to let forests perform their function as carbon sinks, and as a natural defence against floods.

“Preserving forests is the cheapest and most effective way of addressing climate change. Forests are effective at trapping carbon dioxide, the gas that contributes to climate change.”

Malaysia saw major flooding from the December 18-19 weekend, accompanied by mudslides and timber from the upper reaches of Sungai Telemong near the Lentang Forest Reserve in Pahang washing down and devastating properties in the Karak and Bentong areas.

The Pahang Forestry Department has denied that logging was the cause and said the timber washed down had been trees broken by the force of a “water surge”.

This followed continuous rain for nearly three days that began on December 17, attributed to the tail of Typhoon Rai, which struck the Philippines, and tropical depression that formed over the South China Sea.

Though the peninsula’s east coast typically suffers year-end floods from the north-east monsoon season at this time of year, the unusual difference in 2021 was the impact on central Peninsula Malaysia, including Selangor and Perak. – January 4, 2022.