Datu Hamden Mohammad
KUCHING (Aug 14): State and federal enforcement agencies are asked to consult and obtain prior confirmation from the Sarawak Forest Department before issuing media statements on their successful operations under the Forest Ordinance 2015.
This is because several of these statements issued recently were inaccurate to the point of causing concern to stakeholders, said State Forest Department director Datu Hamden Mohammad.
“This is to avoid the media statements being contradictory and untrue which could ultimately affect the image and reputation of the state government here and abroad, in the state government’s effort to develop the timber industry and combat illegal logging in the state,” he said in a statement yesterday.
In this regard, all state and federal enforcement agencies involved in the enforcement of Forest Ordinance 2015 should refer to the Terms of Reference (TOR) that has been mutually agreed in the State Illegal Logging Task Force chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan who is also Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development, he added.
In the TOR, all enforcement agencies have to obtain confirmation of arrest status, location and logging activities as well as confiscation value before the media statement is issued, he said.