Federal and State governments to work together

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister's department, Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim said the federal government will work hand-in-hand with the state governments to prevent deforestation, considered to be one of the reasons behind the flood in the East Coast.
He said the federal and state governments' main focus, after the flood relief projects, is to restore the forest reserves and prevent illegal logging.
"I am warning all illegal loggers to leave our forests alone, and anyone caught stealing from our forests will be dealt with and punished accordingly. I believe the Forestry Department knows about this, and action will be taken soon," he said.
"We are also considering introducing Renjer Kehormat (volunteer rangers) to assist the existing rangers in taking care of the forests," he added.
He also added that the government is pushing to give out RM500 to victims of the flood who are moving out, or whose homes have been destroyed by the catastrophe. We will also help to rebuild and repair these houses.
Shahidan said this during a cheque presentation of US$100,000 (approximately equivalent to RM358,000) from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia (Teco) to the Malaysian Government, to help assist and support the ongoing work for the flood relief and post-flood restoration.
The cheque was presented by the Deputy Representative of Teco, Jeffery Kau, and was witnessed by the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to East Asia, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
"I would like to express my best wishes for the success of the on-going relief and reconstruction programmes conducted by the people and government of this country," said Kau.
In addition, Taipei Investors' Association in Malaysia, represented by its President Datuk Allen Chiang, donated an additional RM50,000 to join the post-disaster reconstruction work, during the event.