Perak politicians share common disinterest in environment - Malaysiakini

July 24, 2009

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Perak are asking Perakians to only vote for politicians who are environmentally conscious.

Spearheaded by the Perak Environment Association (PEA), the move hopes to create environment protection awareness in the state by backing politicians who cared for the environment and took the issue seriously.

PEA president Abdul Rahman Said Alli told Malaysiakini today that the state authority in Perak is deteriorating with politicians ignoring the environmental aspects of because they are too busy lobbying for positions and political clout.

"The forest reserve area in the state is dwindling fast and adversely affecting the environment as a whole and politicians are not bothered about arresting this problem," Rahman lamented.

In line with these objectives, a two-day seminar was held in Ipoh by the Open University of Malaysia.

Shunned by BN and Pakatan

The seminar was attended by seven NGOs comprising the Malaysian Nature Society, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Fomca, Ipoh City Watch, KARS Society (watchdog group on limestone operations in the state), Selangor Environmental Society and PEA.

The main objective of this seminar, according to Rahman, was to educate the state politicians on the importance of preserving the environment and to get their support to highlight the problem both at the state assembly and in Parliament.

'But, sad to say the objective of the seminar was not reached as only a handful of the invited politicians turned up for the seminar. We have written to both the federal and state leaders of BN and Pakatan protesting the lukewarm attitude of their political representatives," Rahman stated.

"So, as a reactive measure, we are going to monitor all state politicians and urge the voters to support and vote for those who support the environment in the next state and general elections," he added.