PAS state governments in Kedah and Kelantan should stop ignoring the environmental problems caused by logging in the two states, MCA said.
Kelantan MCA secretary Tan Ken Ten claimed that the PAS-led government in Kedah had failed to address environmental concerns as a result of excessive logging in the state and caused rivers to be murky.
“The PAS government in Kelantan has similarly neglected the long-standing river pollution issues caused by logging in rural villages,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Tan was referring to a news report that logging activities were causing pollution in Sungai Rual in Kelantan, which disrupted the daily lives of villagers and forced elephants to relocate.
“It is no coincidence that PAS-dominated Kedah and Kelantan are facing the same environmental issues,” he said, claiming that the orang asli community in Kelantan were severely impacted by the pollution in Sungai Rual, which they depended on for water supply.
Tan claimed that elephants were also forced to leave their natural habitat in search of food.
“As a result, wild elephants have rampaged through orang asli villages, destroying their crops in the process,” he said, claiming that water from Sungai Kelantan flowing through Kota Baru was brownish all year round.
“In its 2008 general election manifesto, PAS promised to ensure all its development projects were environment and people-friendly. The party also offered to construct a smart water drainage system, protect rain catchment areas and preserve jungles and wildlife.
“However, it has not lived up to its promises,” Tan said.
He urged PAS to implement the ideas in its manifesto and provide practical solutions to the environmental challenges that had cropped up instead of neglecting them, as it had done in Kedah.
