Dr Gregory Hii
SIBU (Aug 26): Former Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Dr Gregory Hii said timber concessionaires should exercise due care when carrying out their activities in the logging areas.
He said they should ensure that timber debris are properly discarded and not washed into the river, which may cause river bank erosion leading to severe pollution.
Rivers need our tender care and we should love our river and stop doing more damage to our environment,” he added.
Hii was referring to last Saturday’s logjam at Rajang River, which brought back memories of the last logjam in 2010 when the massive timber debris stretched all the way from Kapit to Sibu, hindering riverine transportation and causing death to the fish.
Hii concurred with Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing that the problems were caused by timber debris from logging activities upstream and also lauded his suggestions that the licences for the irresponsible timber concessionaires operating at the upper reaches of Batang Baleh should not be renewed.
“The logjam not only disturbed the livelihood of the people but also caused severe hardship to those who stay at the riverside for survival,” he added.
Hii also called on the government to carry out a thorough investigation to ensure that such logjam would not recur in the future.
At the same time, he also reminded river bank dwellers as well as urban inhabitants to avoid disposing of their domestic waste into the river which only further aggravates river pollution.
“The river pollution had affected the people through restricted supply of drinking water. Hopefully, all of us will play our roles responsibly and care for our river.”