ALOR STAR: Logging activity which left part of the Gunung Inas forest exposed was done before Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah assumed power as Kedah's 12th Menteri Besar.
His former political secretary Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said logging was carried out by the previous state administration before Bashah became menteri besar in February 2016.
In defending the Bashah administration's decision to approve a large-scale Musang King plantation at Gunung Inas, Shaiful said it was a move to rehabilitate the exposed site and to generate revenue for the state.
"First, the site had already been exposed. Timber clearing, which was done with the approval of the previous administration, had caused extensive damage to the site.
"This means that this issue should be viewed from a wider perspective. Beyond just the durian plantation, but more importantly, the fact that Gunung Inas had been left exposed and ruined by the logging activities carried out earlier.
"As such, it was the responsibility of the then state government (under Bashah) to find solutions to restore the hill's greenery and it had to be done on a massive scale.
"Second, the Musang King plantation was approved as it offered two solutions; to restore the exposed site greenery and, at the same, had the potential to generate revenue for the state," he said in a statement today.
Shaiful, who is also Merbok Umno division deputy chief, stressed that even without the durian plantation project, the exposed site had already posed a threat to its adjacent areas. Hence, he called for a thorough investigation into the matter by the state and the federal governments.
"A full exposure which reflects verifiable facts should be made in a transparent and comprehensive manner.
"Failing which, we will miss looking into the actual root cause. Without knowing the actual facts (logging and hill clearing), this issue will persist and we will forever look at matters that were not the root cause of the problem," he added.
Shaiful called for all parties to be fair, open and objective in scrutinising the issue.
Earlier today, Bashah acknowledged that his administration had given the approval to ECK Development Sdn Bhd for a Musang King plantation at Gunung Inas.
The former Kedah menteri besar said approval for a large-scale durian plantation was meant to rehabilitate the site, which was left exposed from logging activities.
In a statement, Bashah, who served as the menteri besar between Feb 4, 2016 and May 10, 2018, said the approval was made after a series of evaluations and was deliberated in a special meeting.
He said the approval was made after "taking into account a lot of factors including from the economic, nature, the interests of the people and so on".
He said besides rehabilitating the exposed site, the state government also stood to reap "the interest and return that was deemed as reasonable" from the Musang King plantation.
