ALOR STAR – Not everything that goes wrong in Kedah is tied to the state government as some issues were inherited from previous administrations, said Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
In a Facebook post today, he said benefits from some of the approved projects did not have the expected spillover effects, forcing the state to reevaluate them.
On a claim on social media of a group of investors allegedly linked to a money game had pledged to turn Gunung Inas that sits between Kulim and Baling in the world’s largest commercial durian orchard, Sanusi said the video clip was old and does not know who was behind it.
He added that the state will investigate the claims, but if true such deals were not conceived during his administration, which only came into power last May.
From 2018 until last May, Kedah was under the Pakatan Harapan coalition led by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.
Sanusi said that the issue could be related to his stop work order last May after the planting of Musang King durian trees were blamed for mud floods in the valley of Kupang in Baling.
He added that land clearing activities were also suspected to be a contributing factor to the disaster that affected 3,000 villagers.
He said the original approval was for state subsidiary Kedah Agro Sdn Bhd in 2007 to plant fruits and other commodity crops in a 5,000ha forest area.
In 2008, the state government fell to PAS, which was led by the late Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, who ordered the felled trees be surrendered to the state Forestry Department. The department would then sell them through open tender.
In 2012, part of the site was converted into a rubber plantation and the poor villagers in the area were roped in as planters who would receive dividends for their work.
But in 2013, the project was rebranded when a new state government led by Barisan Nasional was formed.
The same project was expanded from 5,000ha to 12,140 ha between 2013 and 2019 with allowance given to not rubber trees but durian saplings.
But the consequence of planting such trees had eroded the soil in the valley of Gunung Inas, triggering mudfloods that inundated the homes of 3,000 villagers, said Sanusi.
He said when the present state government took over, it was decided that the durian orchard project was not worthwhile.
Last July, Sanusi said 809ha of the land was already planted with durians, but the state wanted to add other fruit trees and resume the rubber cultivation scheme.
The scheme continues until today except it no longer involves the villagers, he added as the previous administration had handed the scheme over to a company. – The Vibes, February 6, 2021
