KUALA KRAI, July 12 — Banners with a message in the Kelantanese dialect, “pemimpin gomol balok, rakyat makin selok” have caught the attention of many in Manek Urai, which is having a by-election on Tuesday.
Outsiders may not know the meaning, but many Kelantanese would give a meaningful smile or grin when they see these words, which mean ‘the leaders enjoy the timber revenue, but the people face an increasingly hard life’.
Perhaps the sight of a long row of timber-laden lorries in Jalan Gua Musang-Machang-Kota Baharu, waiting for the logs to be inspected at the state Forestry Department’s station in Laloh here provides road users a connection to the words on the banners, which have appeared in the area since the by-election campaign began on July 6.
Kelantan Umno deputy liaison chief Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said the banners mirrorred the reality in the state, where the state government which was controlled by PAS in the last 20 years, depended on timber as its main source of revenue.
He said Kelantan had no sources of revenue other than timber, which was depleting due to over-dependence on it.
“Last year, Kelantan earned RM400 million from timber but this is expected to drop further next year and the years ahead,” he said.
Kelantan Forestry Department director Datuk Abdullah Sani Shaffie when contacted by Bernama said the timber sector contributed 30 to 40 per cent of the state’s revenue.
He said the lorries transported logs of various species from the state’s main logging areas, namely Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and Machang, with RM2 million to RM3 million and sometimes even RM4 million collected each month in tax by the department, depending on the size of the logs, quantity and species.
According to him, the forestry officers were able to identify the logs that came from areas allowed to be logged based on the markings on the logs, which each lorry carrying up to 10 tonnes of logs each time.
He said this year, eight licences were issued to local companies to carry out logging in the stipulated areas.
“The logs are taken to the sawmills in Tanah Merah and 70 per cent of the sawn timber are for local use,” he added. – Bernama
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
