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Time to stop blaming nature and take responsibility

  • Publication Date | July 6, 2022
  • Document Type | Letter to the Editor
  • Programmes | Forests & Biodiversity
  • Issues | Deforestation, Development, Forest Conversions, Plantations
  • Tags | Baling, Floods, Gunung Inas
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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) calls on the Kedah state government to take more responsibility for the Baling floods in Kedah and the devastation that resulted in the death of three persons, including a pregnant woman and the loss of homes of hundreds of others.

SAM is appalled by the response of the Menteri Besar of Kedah, Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who once again rubbished logging as a possible cause for the massive gush of water from the streams in Gunung Inas. The MB according to media reports, attributed the cause to a “water head” problem, with the accumulation of water upstream following the rains, similar to the Gunung Jerai tragedy last year.

The water-head phenomenon cannot be a convenient excuse, when we see pictures of large amounts of trees and logs washed down with the gushing of silt laden waters. Also, there is a video circulating widely on social media which shows a company promoting its musang king durian plantations in the Gunung Inas area, involving the massive clearings of forests. 

The MB must have seen such videos and explain if they are fake or if there is some truth in them, because the credibility of the Kedah government is at stake.

The Kedah MB’s response in blaming Mother Nature as the cause for the severe floods is most irresponsible, when it defies logic and common sense that the upper reaches of the Gunung Inas are not in a pristine state and not free from land disturbances. The land clearings that are going on may not be for logging, but surely, it cannot be said that nothing is happening in the area. 

We are also equally outraged by the response from the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan who also said that no active logging activities had been reported in the Gunung Inas Forest Reserve and that the floods could have been due to a water surge phenomenon, echoing the sentiments of the Kedah MB. 

The Minister’s assertion that 5,000 trees have been planted in a 52ha area as part of reforestation efforts in the area is no comfort to us, when such efforts are insignificant, compared to the hundreds or thousands of hectares which are cleared for plantations or other purposes.

In order to come clean on the matter and to regain public confidence, SAM once again calls on the Kedah state government to hold a public Commission of Inquiry to get to the root of the matter, both in the case of the Baling floods and the Gunung Jerai tragedy.

Clearly, there is more to these incidences than meets the eye, and if we are to avert another tragedy of this kind. Such an inquiry is needed to ascertain what exactly is going on in the state of Kedah in this regard and what measures and gaps need to be addressed with urgency. 

Simply blaming Mother Nature is not going to work any longer, as the intensity and frequency of such intense rainfalls due to climate change will be a recurring problem. 

Also, it is not enough for the federal government to just be seen as providing aid and cash relief as such band aid measures are not going to prevent further disasters from happening, not only in Kedah but all other states, where the rampant clearing of forests for all kinds of purposes including for logging, plantations and mining activities are allowed.

It is time to act with responsibility and prevent further tragedies. Let’s not wait for more disasters!

Meenakshi Raman
President

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Testimonials

Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah satu badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang telah sekian lama berjuang mempertahan kelestarian alam. Ia juga mendidik masyarakat tentang pentingnya kebersamaan dalam pemikiran dan tindakan agar alam ini dapat kita wariskan kepada generasi hadapan dalam keadaan yang elok dan terpelihara. Dalam pada itu juga SAM giat membantu golongan nelayan pantai dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak mereka sehinggalah tertubuhnya Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING). Nelayan pantai sepenuh masa ini dididik oleh SAM sehingga mereka mampu memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin nelayan yang meneruskan kesinambungan memperjuangkan hak-hak nelayan pantai lainnya. Sebagai contoh SAM telah berjaya menyedarkan masyarakat nelayan keperluan menjaga hutan paya bakau untuk kebaikan hasil tangkapan nelayan itu sendiri.
Jamaluddin Mohamad Bualik
Jamaluddin Mohamad BualikPersatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING)
During the 1980s, I used to read about the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) in the news. After retirement, some time in 2001, while lazing around, I read news about the construction of a carbon in leach plant using sodium cyanide to extract gold in Bukit Koman. My friends and I visited CAP and we were introduced to SAM and her legal team. We discussed the details of filing a case against the gold mining company and the department of environment with Ms Meenakshi Raman and her legal team. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between lawyers from SAM and many of us from Bukit Koman. We had many ups and downs in our struggle to shut down the gold mine that was causing a nuisance in our village. But, as a community we never gave up because SAM had our backs.
Hue Fui How
Hue Fui HowSecretary, Bukit Koman Ban Cyanide in Goldmining Action Committee (BCAC)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah sebuah NGO yang memperjuangkan nasib masyarakat luar bandar khasnya. SAM menerima aduan-aduan masyarakat dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi. SAM telah mewujudkan ramai aktivis-aktivis sosial dan alam sekitar. Pada era 1980 dan 90an SAM sangat dihormati oleh masyarakat dan agensi kerajaan. Apabila media sosial menguasai maklumat maka SAM pun terkesan dan masalah masyarakat terus disalurkan dengan pelbagai cara. SAM perlu mewujudkan aktivis-aktivis pelapis yang muda untuk terus membantu masyarakat. SAM juga perlu membuat perubahan supaya banyak turun kelapangan dan jangan mengharapkan laporan media sahaja. Tingkatkan prestasi sebagaimana pada zaman kegemilangan SAM di era 80-90an.
Che Ani Mt Zain
Che Ani Mt Zain
SAM taught me the importance of social activism and the role it plays in upholding the rights of people and the protection of the environment. In my experience, SAM has never hesitated to speak up in defence of people and their environment, and has gone the extra mile to champion their rights, by helping communities take their battles to the higher ups and even to the courts.
Jessica Binwani
Jessica BinwaniPublic/Private Interest Lawyer
Semenjak kami kenal SAM, banyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan yg kami dapat. Kami telah belajar cara membuat baja asli daripada SAM. Semenjak itu, bermulalah minat kami dalam aktiviti pertanian. Dengan memperolehi kemahiran dalam membuat baja asli dan penanaman lestari, kami juga telah dapat menambahkan pendapatan sampingan kami. Ini lebih baik daripada tanah kami terbiar dan tidak diusahakan. Terima kasih SAM kerana sudi memberi bantuan dan tunjuk ajar kepada Persatuan kami.
Chedo Anak Nyuwen
Chedo Anak NyuwenPersatuan Penduduk Sg Buri, Bakong, Marudi
My journey with SAM started when her community organisers took me to the meet the paddy farmers of Kedah, connecting my growing interest in environmental law with our people who struggle to work the land in the face of pollution, replacement of traditional seeds with commercial hybrids and their accompanying chemical package of fertilisers and weedicides. I then had the honour to work with SAM in the struggle for the rights of the native communities of Sarawak, in defence of their forests from massive logging and destructive mega-projects. In every issue that SAM takes up, she combines rigorous research with the realities and voices of the communities to advocate for policies and laws that care for people and nature. From the courts to the elected legislators to policy makers and implementers and to the United Nations, SAM walks side by side with the communities in Malaysia. How can I not be inspired by the vision and passion of the generations of women and men who coalesce to form SAM?
Chee Yoke Ling
Chee Yoke Lingstudent of SAM, Executive Director of Third World Network, SAM’s sister organisation

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki, 11400 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Marudi Office)
129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi, Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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