KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 11 — Newly-minted Environment Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has defended controversial logging activities in the state of Kelantan, which is administered by his party PAS.

Malaysiakini reported Tuan Ibrahim saying saying such activities are legal, and any negative perception against it was the result of opposition politicians.

“If you look at Kelantan, it has ISO certification, compared to other states that do not have any.

“It is partly due to sentiment from the opposition,” the PAS deputy president was quoted as saying when he clocked in at Putrajaya, referring to logging.

Tuan Ibrahim then took his ire out on the Musang King durian plantations, whom he claimed had polluted rivers in Kelantan.

“It’s not just about logging issues. For example, now there are thousands of acres of Musang King plantations which we will need to look at.

“We also need to look at our rivers, I’m serious about it...They have caused pollution to our rivers,” he said, adding the ministry will check to what extent the damage was done.

Musang King is one of the most prized types of durian and one kilogramme of Musang King can be priced between RM24 and RM55.

In the past, forests in Kelantan were razed to make way for Musang King plantations.

Apart from that, Tuan Ibrahim said the ministry will continue to uphold good policies made during the Pakatan Harapan administration including the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

He said the ministry would also continue to implement the single-use plastic and will send back the balance 84 illegal plastic waste containers sneaked into Malaysia to the countries of origin.

As for the building of a permanent disposal facility for Lynas water leach purification system, Tuan Ibrahim said his ministry has yet to receive the Environmental Impact Assessment report by Lynas to build the facility in Bukit Ketam, Kuantan.

It is expected a total of 14 or 15 agencies will be parked under the Environment Ministry.

That include the Department of Environment, Department of Wildlife and National Parks and Forest Research Institute Malaysia.