Allegations Over Destruction Of Rainforests Unfounded, Says Musang Aman. Can We Believe Him?

Malaysia reiterates that the allegations by some western countries over indiscriminate opening of oil palm plantations and destruction of its rainforests and habitats are unfounded.

Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, in saying this last night, urged the western non-governmental organisations to stop their smear campaigns because Malaysia is committed to protecting the environment.

"Of course we are very concerned about these allegations and I want to put on record that we, Malaysians, love our forests and their biodiversity.

"We're not going to destroy them because we know that the forests can provide us with a lot of good things.

"We're proud of our eco treasures from mountain high to ocean deep. This is also our selling point in getting tourists to the state," he said at a dinner to welcome participants of the Oana Workshop on Sustainable Forest Management here.

Musa said that Malaysia had developed environment-friendly practices in its oil palm management and production through research and development (R&D) programmes and had largely stopped felling virgin forests for oil palm 10 years ago.

However, despite its strong commitment towards sustainable forest management, it had had to face negative publicity campaigns from time to time, he said.

Welcoming the move by the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies' (Oana) secretariat to hold the workshop in Sabah, Musa hoped that the participants, particularly foreign journalists, would be able to personally see the conservation efforts by the government and write truthfully, thus correcting the misconception. (Bernama)

***** Just speaking like a dedicated conservationist while behaving like a modern-day lanun isn't going to convince anyone. Can we believe Musang Aman's heart-rending fairy tale?
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