TTF: Dato’ Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal should stop worrying about illegal logging in Sabah’s forest reserves (see news item below) and focus instead on the illegal stash of cash the authorities found in a unit linked to him.
On the 7th of July 2018, I wrote (in red):
Last year, the MACC followed a money trail that led to a RM48 million stash distributed through 14 companies with links to Dato’ Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
The finding triggered discoveries into 60 companies that were said to be involved with various activities related to that stash.
The activities had to do with 170 water supply projects, 163 roadworks projects and 17 power supply projects.
The MACC confirmed that among companies investigated, 23 came under the purview of Shafie’s own brothers, Dato’ Yusof Apdal and Haji Hamid Apdal.
The MACC even released a report titled “MACC SIFTING THROUGH FLOW OF RM48MIL CASH 14” via the Star, leading to a lawsuit filed by Shafie against the daily.
But what happened?
According to online portal Malaysia Choice, MACC chief Dato’ Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull directed the case to be closed and undertook to release a key witness. The Third Force challenges Shukri to confirm if or not this is true and demands that he updates Malaysians on the status of the case.
Shukri has 48 hours to comply.
He didn’t, though that’s the least of my concerns insofar as this article goes.
What concerns me most is the idea of having a Chief Minister who himself is horribly tainted talking about illegal logging as if it bothers him.
To hear Shafie speak these “words of virtue” is akin to listening to Satan singing “The Amazing Graze” or Ambiga Sreneevasan reciting the Holy Quran.
There is a definite need for one to confine the game of perception within parameters of logic even the man on the street can digest.
Shafie should focus on proving to that man that he’s innocent by demanding that the MACC gets to the bottom of the RM48 million controversy.
Only when he does so will the rakyat be convinced that he truly is a man of virtue who is is out to fight corruption in the spirit of truth and justice.
KOTA KINABALU: More than 10 companies are suspected of being involved in illegal logging in the state’s forest reserves.
During a recent operation, the Illegal Logging Crackdown Committee under the Chief Minister’s Department recorded 40,161 logs that it suspects were processed without paying the timber tax.
The massive crackdown, which started early this month, focused on the Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve (Yayasan Sabah concession) in Tongod, Trusmadi Forest Reserve (Forest Management Unit 5) in Ranau, and Gunung Rara Forest Reserve (Yayasan Sabah concession) in Kalabakan.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said reports had been lodged with police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“We believe these logging activities violate the provisions of the Forestry Enactment 1968,” he said.
“This is one of the measures taken to prevent our forestry resources from being exploited because, in certain areas, there were almost 20,000 abandoned logs without timber tax.
“The wood size is also doubtful and believed to have violated the provisions set by the Forestry and the logging activities also involved the cutting of protected belian trees.”
Mohd Shafie said he did not know how long the logging companies had been operating.
“For sure, the approval was not given by the current state government. However, I don’t want to make any assumptions.
“I hope people are mindful that we are very firm in insisting that action be taken against (the companies).”
Mohd Shafie urged logging companies operating in the state to comply with the logging licence requirement, Forestry Enactment 1968 provisions and Forestry Rules 1969.
At the moment, there are 9,300 logs at a sawmill and forest reserve in Tongod, 549 logs at a sawmill in Sandakan and 5,091 logs in forest reserves in Ranau.
In Kalabakan, 6,221 logs were discovered in the forest reserve and 19,000 logs were found at two sawmills.
On July 16, Mohd Shafie announced that the government had reactivated the Illegal Logging Crackdown Committee to strengthen enforcement to protect the state’s forestry resources.
Source: NST Online
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