ALOR STAR – Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has welcomed the federal government’s announcement on compensation for states that maintain their forest reserves as water catchment areas and protect them against illegal logging activities,
He said Kedah has 344,865.09ha of forest covering 36.4% of the state’s total land.
“Kedah maintains the forest reserve areas not solely for its own purposes but also in sacrifice for the country.
“This is because the catchment areas in the state’s forest reserves serve places that need irrigation for rice cultivation, not only in Kedah, but also in neighbouring Penang and Perlis,” he said in a statement today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said yesterday that the formula to determine the quantum for the payment of compensation will be studied by the relevant ministries.
Sanusi said that RM100 million a year as compensation to Kedah for “losses” incurred from not using its own forestry products is a reasonable amount that should be channelled in the form of fiscal compensation and not tree-planting projects.
The compensation would cover maintenance costs to ensure the nature at the Ulu Muda catchment area is sustainably managed, he said.
Sanusi said the state supplies 43% of the country’s rice needs, helping the federal government save on importing rice from overseas.
“The catchment area in Ulu Muda forest reserve in Kedah, especially the 163,000ha of forest, also supplies water to Penang, which absorbs 1,100 million litres of water per day from Sg Muda, compared to the people of Kedah itself who use only 800 million litres of water a day from Sg Muda,” he said.
Sanusi added that 80% of Penang’s daily water usage is from Sg Muda.
He said that not only has the Penang government not paid the compensation Kedah has demanded, but it has also failed to reply to letters sent for consultation on the matter.
“The announcement of the prime minister is in line with the 4th National Physical Plan which was discussed at the National Physical Planning Council meeting recently, and Kedah hopes that the compensation will be in the form of fiscal compensation, not in the form of tree-planting projects and so on,” he added. – The Vibes, November 22, 2021
