KUALA LUMPUR – Timber logging companies that rake in billions in profits should be made responsible for the maintenance of public roads that they damaged, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The PKR president said the Rural Development Ministry must not leave the problem of damaged roads to the respective state governments to resolve.
Anwar, who is also Port Dickson MP, said this in the Dewan Rakyat today in response to Deputy Rural Development Minister II Datuk Hasbi Habibollah’s explanation on the Finance Ministry’s Malaysian Road Record Inventory System (Marris) that manages maintenance-related issues.
Hasbi, who was responding to a supplementary question by Anyi Ngau (Baram-GPS), said the ministry has no plans to create a special fund for the maintenance of roads in rural areas.
However, Anwar said the ministry should take responsibility in overseeing the matter.
“The deputy minister’s answer should be to ensure the timber companies that profit in billions of ringgit are made responsible on those roads. He should not pass this responsibility elsewhere,” he said.
“Even the roads that do not belong to these companies are being damaged by them, be it in Sabah and Sarawak.”
On Marris, Anwar claimed that a RM1 billion allocation was given to irresponsible firms, which caused a leakage in finances.
“The Rural Development Ministry must monitor this, and not say that it is the responsibility of the state governments.”
In response, Hasbi came to the defence of logging companies, which he said had helped to maintain the affected roads.
Hasbi clarified that the roads in question were those that were abandoned after being used by timber firms.
He said the roads were “without owners” and had been taken over by the government.
“They (timber companies) have helped a lot as part of their CSR (corporate social responsibility) and even repaired roads that they themselves do not use,” he added. – The Vibes, November 11, 2021
