ENVIRONMENTAL watchdog Rimba Watch has expressed concern over the potential sale of 85,000ha of forest land in Sabah and Sarawak.

Rimba Watch said nine parcels of land being put up for sale are three and a half times the size of Kuala Lumpur, larger than Penang Island, and larger than the entire state of Perlis.

The parcels are listed on online platforms Mudah.my and Facebook Marketplace, Rimba Watch said in a statement.

A geospatial analysis of the land parcels for sale found that 54,629ha were classified as “undisturbed forest” and 30,476ha as “degraded forest.”

“Together, they encompass 85,105ha of forest which could be under threat if such sales are successful,” the watchdog stated.

“Six of these listings were found on Facebook Marketplace and the three on Mudah.my,” it added.

The watchdog said that the sales listings of the land parcels did not provide many details but some mentioned that they were suitable for agriculture.

Some maps attached to the listings appeared to be from official surveys conducted by the land offices; some listings have land titles, official letters, project proposals, and other details attached to them, Rimba Watch added.

Rimba Watch said the land parcels put up for sale are 54,500ha in Silat, Sarawak, 300ha in Tongod, within or adjacent to the Milian Labau Forest Reserve in Sabah; 11,000ha in Pulau Banggi, Sabah; 14,100ha near Kapit, Sarawak;  1,800ha near Bintulu, Sarawak; 4,600ha in Patah, Sarawak; 300ha of mangrove forest near Sibu, Sarawak;  2,200ha near Lundu, Sarawak; and 300ha near Kota Belud, Sabah.

Rimba Watch said that the Silat land overlaps with an area excised from the Gerenai Forest Management Unit for conversion to oil palm plantation.

It said that the Gerenai FMU, including the excised area, is located in indigenous territories.

Rimba Watch urged the Sabah and Sarawak governments to investigate these land sales, given the presence of government-sanctioned maps and detailed concession information attached to some of the listings.

“Plans to trade these lands should be cancelled with the view of maintaining Malaysia’s forest cover to the maximum possible extent; real estate websites, including Facebook Marketplace, should adopt policies to ensure that they do not facilitate deforestation.” – July 26, 2024.