KOTA KINABALU, Feb 6 — Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan today stressed that the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA) did not involve the sale or collateral asset of forest land as alleged by opposition political leaders.

Kitingan, who is also state Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said the NCA is an agreement involving carbon credit trading that would benefit forest conservation and provide revenue to the Sabah government to develop the state.

"The NCA is a project to protect our forests to generate income without cutting down a single tree and getting the approval of the state cabinet, and does not need to be brought and tabled in the DUN (State Legislative Assembly) because we already have legislation and a decision on this matter under the state government.

"For now, there is a revenue of RM110 million from forests but the forests have been destroyed by logging. Instead of cutting down RM110 million worth of timber, if we observe the NCA, we can get more than RM1 billion. Therefore, which (of it) is better?” he said in a statement via video recording today.

Prior to this, Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is also the state Opposition leader, claimed that the 100-year NCA agreement caused two million hectares of forest in Sabah to be "handed over” to a foreign company based in Singapore.

Carbon credit trading is a market-based system designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, especially carbon dioxide, by creating a financial incentive to do so.

Jeffrey said forests in Sabah are protected under laws such as the Forest Enactment 1968 with the strict monitoring of the Sabah Forestry Department (JPS), therefore, there is nothing that can allow the state’s forests to be destroyed arbitrarily.

"There are plans so that our people, our indigenous people will benefit, including the villagers who have land. We will get them registered so that they can enjoy this NCA programme too,” he also said.

He added that political leaders in the state were urged to stop using the NCA issue to gain political support by spreading untrue information, and together with the state government develop Sabah for the people of this state. — Bernama