Allegation 250,000 acres forest reserve cultivated with oil palm is baseless - Musa

The opposition allegation that the state government has cultivated 250,000 acres of forest reserve with oil palm is baseless, the Sabah State Assembly heard today.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the allegation by Junz Wong (Warisan-Likas) was aimed at running down the state government and confusing the people.

"He (Junz Wong) made the malicious allegation without checking the facts. I want to remind him to do his job as a state assemblyman based on the truth and not based on false information," he said in reply to a question from Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin (Harapan Rakyat-Klias) who asked about the allegation that 250,000 acres of forest reserve had been cultivated with oil palm.

Musa was willing to accept a visit from Wong or any leader to explain about the management of forest and the Sabah Foundation.

Sabah has the largest Total Protection Area (TPA) of forest in Malaysia at 1.9 million hectares which gained international recognition.

"The TPA is closing in on the state governments target of 26 percent compared to 30 percent target by 2025.

"In an effort to preserve forest reserve, we will establish ties with individuals and associations such as the close collaboration with WWF Environmental Protection, Abraham Foundation in New York; Kyoto, Cambridge and Oxford University and London Imperial College," he said. --Bernama