Development ravages Malaysia’s ‘Little England’
Development ravages Malaysia’s ‘Little England’
January 08, 2014
On a Malaysian ridge-top, R. Ramakrishnan scans a rugged landscape famed in British colonial times as a fresh-aired slice of England in the tropics, but he sees a paradise lost.
Illegal farms covered in unsightly plastic sheeting stretch into the distance along the steep slopes of the Cameron Highlands as bulldozers mow down nearby forests.
“Everyone is grabbing land. There is a free-for-all,” the local environmental activist said as chainsaws growled.
Montane Birds of Cameron Highlands
Montane Birds of Cameron Highlands is the second book published by REACH. As with our first book ” Wild Orchids of Cameron Highlnads” the main objective of these books are to document the flora and fauna of the montane forests. Among the birds listed in the 2014 IUCN Red List of Threatened species ,The Malaysian Peacock-pheasant and the Malaysian Whistling-thrush are found here.We wish to highlight the wondrous beauty of our highland forests and what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.
We were fortunate to have obtained funding from The Embassy of Finland for the documentation and publication of this book. We take this opportunity to thank Mr Timo Karmakallio, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Finland, Kuala Lumpur for their 3 years of support in providing us funds to set up the biodiversity centre. This book is a product of the research undertaken through this funding.
The collection of photographs,records and write-ups come from a team of dedicated birders who have helped REACH build up our bird database and contributed to the success of this book. They include Miss Carrol Marie Lawrence,Datuk Dr Amar Singh, Andy Paul, Mathialagan Sengkattyan,John Steed, Henry Goh, Tay Yeow Tian, Kaliyannan Karupiah, Ramakrishnan Ramasamy, Amran Nadzar Khan, Chong Chee Kheong, Liew Weng Keong, Satya Murthy, Neoh Hor Kee, Heikal Pinto, Sam Wong and Melody Woon.
Editors include Roy Margaret, Carrol Marie Lawrence and Lim Bing Yee
There are a total of 662 species of birds in the Checklist of the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia 2012. There are 177 birds listed in the checklist for Cameron Highlands and 102 of these are showcased in this book.
A Serious Matter made Trivial
Question : Bagaimana kita hendak mengimbangkan kesan alam sekitar ke atas industri pertanian dan pelancongan?
Some of the MP’s answers transcribed…
Saya sudah bincang dengan Menteri Pelancongan. Saya dan dia perlu pergi ke Cameron Highlands untuk bincangan dengan orang ramai macam mana hendak mempromosikan pelancongan.
Petani-petani telah membersihkan tanak sampai bukit…. blah blah blah (spew facts)…blah blah blah…tak nak sebut kaum…blah blah
Yang penting ada satu calon bebas yang bertanding di Tanah Rata. Dia yang selalu datang marah saya selalu. Dia punya nama Dr.Cheam. Dia selalu bincang sama saya
(Note : the MP has never really sat down to discuss issues related to CH with Dr.Cheam if he did he definitely would have a more well informed and factual answer ready. Not the off the cuff replies which has made him look not too favorable in the eyes of a learned voter)
Saya mahu wujudkan satu pertubuhan NGO (MP don’t you know that there already is an active NGO called REACH… unlike Anson Wong you must surely know Rama by now)
Yang jadi masalah besar ialah kekurangan pelancong ke Cameron Highlands. (at this point of the video you can know that everyone thinks the answers are a joke and insults one’s intelligence)
The Land Conservation Act 1960
by Dr.Cheam May Choo
1st January 2014.- A very smart lawyer once told me,” The Land Conservation Act is a cobweb law “. But as I understand it, laws are laws, with or without their attending ‘cobwebs’ and until they are abolished by parliament they remain valid. I always felt that our forefathers were a very intelligent and caring group of people. They came up with this Act in 1960 to protect the hill lands. They had foreseen the future and now they reached out through 53 years of time, to lend us a helping hand. It is our generation who is selfish, greedy and insatiable. It is us who will let our future generations down if we continue our apathy.
Corruption Rules in CH
ILLEGAL LAND-CLEARING : FOREST ENCROACHER CHARGED WITH OFFERING BRIBE TO LAND OFFICER – ntv7
At the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, a forest encroacher pleaded not guilty to offering a bribe to an assistant land officer at the Cameron Highlands District and Land Office, Pahang last year.
43 year old Tan Meng Lee was charged with offering 20,000 ringgit to Abdul Rahim Sulaiman at Grand Millenium Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on October 8.
The money was an inducement for not taking action against Tan for illegally clearing land at the Sungai Terla Forest Reserve in Kampung Raja and the government land at Blue Valley in Cameron Highlands.
Charged under Section 17 B of the MACC Act, Tan faces a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe if convicted.
Judge Rosbiahanin allowed bail of 10,000 ringgit and fixed February 7 for remention of the case.
Watch video.
10/10/13 – Man held for trying to bribe officers
KUALA LUMPUR: A man believed to be involved in illegal land clearing and business deals was detained for attempting to bribe an enforcement officer.
He was detained by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers at a hotel here on Tuesday.
It is learnt the suspect was caught as he attempted to hand over some RM20,000 to bribe the officer, who was monitoring the agriculture activities in Cameron Highlands.
The suspect, in his 40s, is believed to be involved in illegal land clearing activities as well as other legitimate businesses there.
The bribe was purportedly meant as protection against any action by the authorities.
Sources revealed that the suspect had been involved in illegal land clearing for more than a year.
11/01/14 – Man pleads not guilty to bribery
KUALA LUMPUR: A 44-year-old man has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to allegedly offering a bribe to an assistant land officer as an inducement not to take action against him over illegal land clearing at a forest reserve in Cameron Highlands.
Tan Meng Lee (pic) was accused of offering RM20,000 to Abdul Rahim Sulaiman, 51, who is attached to the Cameron Highlands district and land office.
15/12/13 – BRAVE
What does to be BRAVE mean …” – To be able to look at your biggest fear and face it in the eye.”
This slide presentation was put together by REACH for the EARTH HOUR 2013.
The song “Brave” by Josh Groban best summarizes what many of us are feeling right now (with regards to our environment.). However things have gotten much worse since then.
Please watch