Karak mudslide believed to be due to uncontrolled logging - NGO

The massive mudslide that occurred at KM52.4 of the Karak Highway, near Lentang-Bukit Tinggi, during a downpour yesterday is believed to be due to uncontrolled logging at the Lentang Recreational Forest area.

Fears over the possibility of such an incident had been expressed before by Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) president, Puan Seri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil after she saw uncontrolled logging activities in the forest area following the building of the Tenaga Nasional Malaysia Berhad (TNB) passageway from Bentong in Pahang to Lenggeng in Negeri Sembilan.

Several actions had been taken including sending protest letters to the state government and highlighting the problem through the mass media, but enforcement had been lax, resulting in more forest land being illegally cleared although it is a water catchment area.

"It is understood that the logging activities started in late October, 2013 and then the encroachers wantonly cleared more land at the Lentang Recreational Forest in the name of development," Shariffa Sabrina told Bernama, last night.

"When we knew about this, Peka sent an official letter to the Pahang state government on Jan 20, last year, expressing our concern over possible adverse effects of the uncontrolled logging activities."

READ: Karak mudslide: Concessionaire suspects existence of logging activities

Shariffa Sabrina said despite the series of protest, uncontrolled logging remained rampant, causing more forest land being stripped of vegetation, hence the massive mudslide on the Karak Highway yesterday evening.

She said the problem could even be more serious if illegal clearing of forests in Bukit Tinggi and Lentang Recreational Forest area were allowed to continue.

She added that the downpour and landslide at 6.30pm yesterday also caused the Tanah Aina Fareena area to be under more than one meter of flood waters, and it was the first such incident to occur at the 3ha eco-tourism getaway since it opened 12 years ago.

According to her, all the furniture and equipment at the popular eco-resort were damaged.

In light of this, she urged the state government and other relevant authorities to view the problem seriously and take drastic action to stop the uncontrolled logging activities to avoid a worse incident, including the loss of lives.