Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — More than a dozen top Pahang officials are being investigated over dubious land deals in the ecologically-damaged Cameron Highlands. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission  (MACC) has also questioned land owners and other individuals linked to extensive illegal land clearing to cash in on the lucrative vegetable, fruit and flower industry there. The anti-corruption agency has “stacks of documents” linking high ranking civil servants who approved land clearing between Ringlet and Kampung Raja, located almost 35km apart, sources revealed. “There are strong indications top government officials from the Land and District Office and other state government agencies are linked to the illegal land clearing in the Camerons,” said the source in the thick of investigations. “MACC is also looking at land owners and other parties involved in areas where illegal cultivations took place. Documents were seize...

As published in Malay Mail today By Frankie D'Cruz frankie@mmail.com.my WELCOME to the (almost) weekly edition of “What are the people charged with keeping us safe doing?” Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel tells us there’s nothing to worry about crushed Cameron Highlands, or so it seems. He has an ambitious goal: to restore his bare Cameron Highlands constituency to the lush green state it was in. Trouble is, the hills have been flattened and tree cover is dismal. No one, including Palanivel, appears to know the extent of deforestation. How could they when no one cared about corrupt environmental practices and are only now scrambling to find solutions. The minister has suddenly become a good steward of the land and wants to plant one million trees to reforest degraded hillsides. How he arrived at the figure of one million trees is beyond comprehension. Could as an environmentalist supposes: one mil...

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and several other enforcement agencies will launch a massive crackdown on government offices soon following allegations of corrupt practices that have resulted in excessive clearing of land and influx of illegal immigrants in Cameron Highlands. MACC will also station officers at the plantation and highland resort immediately with the objective of setting up an office there permanently. Insiders claim investigations were underway as MACC “has been pressured” to tackle the issue after mud floods killed five people and injured five others on Nov 5. Homes and vehicles were also destroyed. Last October, four people were killed in a similar incident that caused heavy damage to property. Environmentalists blamed it on uncontrolled land clearing. On the planned swoop, a source said: “This crackdown will be as big as the one against...

As published in Malay Mail today. Being Frank By Frankie D’Cruz THE situation in Cameron Highlands is overwhelmingly negative. Its portrayal in tour brochures as "wonderful Malaysia" invites spear-throwing and demands action under the Trades Description Act.  It is nothing less than astounding to only now realise that there existed a conspiracy in the concealment of corruption that has battered a major tourist retreat. The administration of Cameron Highlands evokes Trotsky's line about the "useful idiot" who thinks he wields influence but is being manipulated by those above him.  There must be a price for the corruption and smooth talk in relation to widespread land clearing that has emerged in the wake of the killer floods which have claimed nine lives since October last year. To ignore the handiwork of the "powerful" who control illegal logging and the highly-lucrative farming for export is treachery. To d...

As published in Malay Mail today. By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — Another environmental group has come out with guns blazing, criticising the Pahang government over the excessive clearing of land in the Cameron Highlands. Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil also took the extreme stand that all development projects there should cease and the military roped in to help safeguard the area. “There’s too much development ... very weak state government. Many individuals believe they are above the law,” she said. “All this needs to stop. Then we can save the Cameron Highlands.” Shariffa said since the Cameron Highlands were the highest hill resort in the country, efforts must be taken to preserve instead of exploit it. “One way of preservation is to stop further infrastructure work that would constitute more cutting down of trees and hills,” she said. “(The authorities need to) monitor further...

As published in Malay Mail today