KOTA KINABALU – Several civil societies have expressed their displeasure following a briefing on the controversial carbon trade deal, which raised more questions on details in the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) penned by the Sabah government recently.
In a statement today, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia called on the Sabah government to make public the details of the NCA, urging transparency and putting all concerns to rest.
“We left the NCA dialogue yesterday being more disappointed as we now have more questions than answers on the agreement.
“There is a need for robust engagement to address the issues with transparency and accountability,” said WWF-Malaysia conservation director Henry Chan.
Chan said the government could at the very least respond to concerns and issues raised in a factsheet, following questions on the authenticity of the facts having emerged during the dialogue.
Among the queries in the factsheet include the jurisdiction of the deal, the scale and the monopoly of the agreement, foreign control, and the limited due diligence done.
On October 30, the state government, with the authorisation from Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor, signed the NCA with a Singapore based firm, Hoch Standard.
The terms of the NCA include a 70:30 revenue sharing deal between the state and the private entity.
The signing of the agreement, which was done in secrecy sparked anger among civil society groups.
Proponent for the NCA, Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also Sabah deputy chief minister, summarised during the two-hour dialogue, that there are provisions in the state forestry laws that will protect Sabah’s interest from any potential misdeeds.
Jeffrey also dismissed that an agreement was signed with an Australia-based company, Tierra Australia.
Sabah Muda chairman Shahrizal Denci said the deal should have gained the cooperation of the Sabah indigenous communities, adding that it is these communities who will benefit from the carbon-trade deal.
“Why is a foreign company getting 30% of the revenue when we can do it ourselves?
“Why not inform the indigenous communities of such a deal?” questioned Shahrizal.
He said Jeffrey, who is known to be a leader that defends the rights of the Sabah indigenous people, is now turning his back on them by signing away the Sabah forests to others.
“If we are being conned, we will face a 100-year problem based on this NCA,” he said.
CSO Platform for Reform member Beverly Joeman clarified that she is not against the carbon-trade deal, but noted it was signed without consultation with the stakeholders, civil societies, the indigenous people, and the general public.
“If not for the online portal Mongabay, none of us would have known about this.
“Jeffrey asked us if we should go ahead (with the deal), my answer is no, because the deal was not transparent and there were no consultations,” she added. – The Vibes, November 19, 2021
