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 Classic Japanese officialdom use innocents to cover up roles in Rainforests destructionBy Editor Rengah 2007-04-10 | An English daily in Sarawak, The Borneo Post reported that official Japanese will bring a group of Japanese to "green" Sarawak, yet again with another tree-planting project in Balai Ringin and Apeng in Serian, about 2 hours' leisure drive from Kuching. No doubt this leisure drive is needed when even Japanese actress will be made to feel at ease in her heart about planting trees to save global warming. How such concept can be accepted by the innocent Japanese people can possibly be adduced to the lack of fully comprehending the situation by the people who will be participating. However, it is the complete opposite for the Japanese officialdom, in which officials know only too well how much Japanese consumption of timber is destroying rainforests in Sarawak and other tropical countries. Perhaps the Japanese participants need to be educated that "Trees do not equal Rainforests" and so planting trees after a forest has been destroyed to feed the hungry world, where Japan is but one of the big consumers, is at best hypocrites. This in no way goes towards easing anything, least of all those innocent hearts. As expected, the Japanese and other tourists are not likely to see the contradiction of official Malaysia. Official Malaysia can now boost of planting how many million trees to artificially "beautify" urban Malaysia while official Malaysia and the private sector had chop away millions of tress in rural Malaysia and continue to log whatever remaining forests. Official and business Malaysia planting in the rural is of a different species, those fit for pulp and paper industries and of course for the future timber industry usage. But beyond the trees, and the global warming and other talks, the Japanese visitors are not being told that on those same lands that those long-gone trees had been stolen from lie families, and communities with traditions, customs and most of all, rights which had been taken away, by official Malaysia, or Sarawak in this case and along the process, enriched ministers, their families and of course the private companies. But most of all, it is doubtful if the Japanese tourists were informed that the current planting areas is a disputed areas where Mount Apeng, being one of the designated planting areas, is claimed by the local communities. The local communities of Mentu Tapu, Paon Gahat and Tong Nibong are claiming Native Customary Rights (NCR) lands over the affected areas. So, may be on this front, the local communities can do their parts in the educating of the coming Japanese visitors? Perhaps a community-based welcoming party with the real taste of people's flavour can supplement the Malaysian official welcome that the visitors and their accompanying Japanese officials may not be able to unmask and tear away the surface to see the ugliness in Sarawak. Perhaps the Japanese can be convinced that it may be better to keep their money at home to plant local Japanese native tree species in Japan than to fly such a long distance and to go through so much officialdom in Japan and Malaysia all just to plant trees. Perhaps the Japanese visitors need to be reminded that their flying will contribute to pollution that contribute to global warming, their land transport needs, their stay in air-conditioned luxury hotels and their consumption here will all add much more to what their tree-planting efforts are meant to reduce global warming. Before the tourists leave, it is certain that they will then be paraded infront of camera and reporters to tell how much joy, fulfillment, and how great they feel that they have contributed to helping Mother Nature. Wow, that is incredible indeed! Oh well, perhaps the Japanese tourists should refer to their 5th April Japan Times report that link the Japanese shipping cartel with the Sarawak Chief Minister's family to the plundering of Sarawak rainforests and Japan's consumption of timber? Attached files
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