BALING – Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has refused to comment any further on speculation that the so-called “world’s biggest Musang King plantation” project on Gunung Inas may have contributed to the recent floods in the area.
Questioned by reporters, he insisted that he has commented on the issue repeatedly since July 2020, soon after he was appointed to lead the state.
“I have been talking about this since 2020. We were already ahead two years earlier,” he said, referring to his administration’s move to slap a stop-work order on the project to plant Musang King durian trees which allegedly led to massive deforestation of the hill.
“We have also instructed them to stop the project. But when we ordered the project to be stopped, the area did not continue to be a forest (after the land was cleared).
“Wait until 2050 and then the place will become a forest again,” he said at a press conference today.
Sanusi was responding to critics on the failure of his administration to manage the Musang King durian farm, which was alleged to be the cause of the Baling floods last Monday.
Among those who have criticised the state is the Consumers’ Association of Penang, which claimed that logging and land-clearing to plant durian trees on the hilly terrain are factors that contributed to the severe floods and mudflows in nearby Baling.
However, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan has denied logging activities are taking place in the Gunung Inas forest reserve. He said that investigations showed that the trees in the flood debris are not sawn timber, as they were swept away with their roots intact.
Yesterday, The Vibes reported that an old video is making its rounds on social media and messaging platforms, featuring a man introducing a planned 12,000ha durian plantation at Gunung Inas.
The nearly two-minute video – believed to surface early last year – shows a man believed to be a “big shot” of a local developer announcing plans for the world’s largest durian farm in Gunung Inas.
“This land size is 12,140ha and we will start planting durian (trees). We already have a nursery of 550,000 durian trees, and behind us, there is another 8,093ha that we will start using.
“This farm will be the largest in the world. It is our latest creation,” the man is heard saying in the clip.
Last year, Sanusi was quoted as saying that his administration issued a stop-work order in 2020, after the video was made.
He then ordered the planting of durian seedlings in May 2020 after allegations that it caused mud floods in nearby villages.
In a separate matter, Sanusi also announced that the state government would provide six-month rental payments for 15 families who lost their homes in the Baling floods.
“Based on the latest update, we have identified 15 houses that were swept away or suffered total damage.
“Another 14 are badly damaged and require major repair. Assessments are being done on other houses that suffered minor damage.
“Those who lost their homes may suggest any land belonging to them for us to build new houses,” he added.
In the incident at about 4pm on Monday, three went missing after strong currents swept their house away when floods hit Kg Iboi, Kupang here yesterday.
They are housewife Salmah Mat Akib, 53, her pregnant daughter-in-law Nurul Anis Abu Hassan, 23, and son Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Nor Azman, 14.
Salmah and Anis were found dead at about 9.30am, while Khairul’s body was found at 11.55am. – The Vibes, July 6, 2022
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