Illegal logging in Crocker Range in Ulu Kimanis

By Dr Nicholas James Guntobon

PAPAR :  What I am about to reveal is just a tip of an iceberg but enough to raise doubt on the seriousness of the ruling party in managing state affairs vis-a-vis illegal loggings, water catchments, environment, poverty eradication programme and even life of our citizens.

In Kampung Kinolosodon, Papar, in the Ulu Kimanis area on the Crocker Range is a coming up Mini Estet Sejahtera (MESEJ) project by the government. But this project under the Kimanis which is represented by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, many things were not right.

I used to ply this Kimanis - Keningau road and everytime I passed Kinosolodon, i am curious as more and more "logging tracks" could be seen from a far on the once dense forests of Crocker Range in Ulu Kimanis in that part in upper Kinosolodon.

We found out that quietly there was a 5 km-asphalt road project undertaken by Sabah Development Corridor deep into the forest in upper Kinolosodon in October 2010. According to its signboard, the asphalt road was to be completed almost a year later on Aug 2011 but only recently it was completed apparently.

On February 2011, the Sabah Rural Development Ministry started to go into the "forested" area building 33 concrete houses for the MESEJ participants, we don't know who as yet. The 33 houses were supposed to be completed by yesterday May 20, 2012. But we found out until yesterday they have only started building a few.

What is very strange and unbelievable is that those houses are being built on an extremely, yes extremely steep hill slopes, i think it must be at least 50 degree in steep, no one local would ever want to stay in them as these houses would be swept down in a heavy downpour as the soils are now exposed !

What happen to Joseph Pairin Kitingan's order to Kiau dwellers not to build houses on steep hill? Here in a MESEJ project houses are being built on extremely steep hills. I dare to challenge Pairin or CM Musa Aman or even Anifah to bring the local press and TV3 to the spot and convince the world it is safe to build concrete houses.

Now the location of this MESEJ project high on the steep Crocker Range is also a water catchment area ! Please Musa and Pairin explain if this is correct or otherwise. But there are streams and at least a river down there.

Recently when a land owner there realised what was going on he went there and found out that timber were being felled from his land brought out by "thieves".  We were made to understand that when his family lodged a police report in Papar, initially there was some reluctance until a very senior state police officer intervened. This is strange.

Right now, round logs are strewn everywhere in the areas, and upon the police report last week, the police had taken shift to guard the exit of the area to so-called prevent timber lorries from bringing out round logs from this water catchment area and the private lands.

Now the road project started in October 2010. We suspect timbers actually had been fallen since 2010 until a few days ago ! Yes there is Forestry certification and what astonished us is that certain Forestry documents who were supposed to be in Forestry custody were left in the hands of company's staff !

And we also received reports that Forestry only there to monitor from Monday to Friday, and that no one to monitor  what happened every weekend for the last two years. Did this explain why many timber lorries coming out of Ulu Kimanis before this? Who and who are behind this ?

Is the development period pre-planned to be consecutively very long and then delayed to facilitate for more time to fell and bring out those timbers? We beg Musa, Anifah and Pairin to explain to the rakyat not only in Papar but the whole Sabah as this is just a tip of many icebergs.

There is a common belief that if every one is quiet on a wrong thing going on like this, it could mean they all have been "handled" somehow or given a share somewhere.

The modus operandi is too common. In other similar project in Pinangah area, the state government started a supposedly Lalampas Agropolitan but what happened was timber lorries night and day brought out round logs from the areas, doesn''t matter what happened to the environment and to the people well-being !

We know some powerful men must be behind all these schemes of things.  

Dr Nicholas James Guntobon, Deputy Chairman, State Reform Party (Star) Sabah