KUCHING: Feedback from the state forestry department was not included in the Auditor-General’s Report 2008 which cited Sarawak for poor forest management.
Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said although the National Audit Department (NAD) had asked the forestry department to comment on its findings, they were not incorporated into the final draft of the report.
He was responding to state audit director Khalid Khan Abdullah Khan’s statement last week that the NAD conducted a study on forest management in consultation with the related agencies for its 2008 report.
Defending the state, Awang Tengah said Sarawak had been practising sustainable forest management for years and had been accredited by the International Tropical Timber Organisation.
Speaking to reporters after opening a land seminar here, he claimed that the Auditor-General did not have the expertise to comment on forest management.
“I’m not questioning the authority of the Auditor-General with regard to financial management and how a project is implemented.
“But I don’t think they have the expertise on forest management. You cannot just conclude based on your observations that if the water is muddy, it is due to illegal logging,” he said.
He hoped the NAD would make the necessary corrections to its report on Sarawak’s forest management.
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