Citing climate crisis, Abim calls for blanket moratorium on logging activities
The Muslim Youth Movement (Abim) has called on Putrajaya to issue a blanket moratorium on all logging activities as part of its proposed long-term solution for major issues including massive annual floods.
Abim president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said rampant logging and deforestation are the main causes of climate change which, in turn, triggers unpredictable weather patterns.
"Abim firmly views that major floods that repeatedly happen are partly due to climate change.
"This situation leads to unpredictable rainfall, at any given time, and can cause major flooding when flood mitigation measures cannot function properly," said Faisal, who is also the coordinator for the Malaysian Interfaith Climate Change Network, in a statement today.
Faisal pointed out that forests are the cheapest and most effective method in dealing with the issue of climate change, adding that they can trap carbon dioxide - a gas that causes climate change.
Rather than approving more logging activities, Faisal said the government should instead push to protect and expand existing forest areas.
"Abim firmly views that it is timely for the government to issue a moratorium order to put a stop to all logging activities as a concrete solution to these disasters which ultimately have burdened the people.
"Given the current situation the world is facing including in Malaysia, where we have entered into the phase of a climate emergency, immediate action must be taken to tackle this problem," he stressed.
Faisal also referred to a recent announcement by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali stating that logging activities are allowed to resume during the movement control order (MCO).
He said this latest development runs contrary to the explanation given by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that the advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the emergency proclamation was made to find solutions to major national issues, namely the Covid-19 pandemic and massive floodings.
Aside from the environmental impact, Faisal said the loss of wildlife habitat due to deforestation also increases the risk for Covid-19 transmission. He cited a finding by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pharmacologist associate professor Dr Vellayan Subramaniam that Covid-19 falls within the category of "zoonotic diseases".
He said the loss of wildlife habitats has led to more frequent wild animal contact with humans, triggering the stress response in the animals.
"When animals get stressed, they start to shed or expel the harmful viruses or bacteria in their bodies and [this can] affect human lives.
"Therefore, in the long run, logging activities and the disappearance of forests have a direct relation with the catastrophe that we are facing now, that is, the outbreak of a virus which has affected our lives," he said.
In announcing Putrajaya's decision last week, Khairuddin said permission for the forestry and timber sector would enable contribution to the country's economic growth even while under MCO.
