Orang asli: Man did not identify himself as Forestry Dept officer

GUA MUSANG: An orang asli group has denied claims by a state Forestry Department officer that they had barred him from entering the jungle to conduct a survey on logging sites in Gua Musang.

Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Kelantan chairman Mustafa Along said the group has lodged a police report to clear the air.

“The officer had claimed to be a member of an NGO from Kota Baru when he arrived at the Keyeh blockade in Pos Pasik last week.

“He did not introduce himself as an officer from the state Forestry Department.

“If he had introduced himself as a government servant, we would have certainly allowed him in.

“We will never block civil servants from discharging their duties as it is against the law,” he said yesterday.

Mustafa was responding to a police report lodged by the officer who had claimed that the orang asli did not allow him access into the jungle.

Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah had recently said that the state could not verify the orang asli’s claims of environmental degradation because the Forestry Department officer was denied entry into the jungle to survey the area.

However, Mohd Amar said they would look into the Forestry Department’s recommendation to review logging permits in sensitive areas.

Some 800 orang asli from 67 villages had been taking turns to camp by the blockades since Feb 18, denying loggers and miners access into the jungles.

They have set up blockades in Cawas and Kaleek to block entry into the Perias Forest Reserve, and in Keyeh to deny access to the Gunung Stong Selatan Forest Reserve.