Why are trees chopped down indiscriminately, activist asks DBKL

FMT:

 

Why are trees chopped

down indiscriminately,

activist asks DBKL

Natasha Busst

-25 Jan 2025, 07:30 AM

Chandran Nair says trees around his residential area are often cut down to the stump without proper expert evaluation to assess if they pose any real risk.

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Activist Chandran Nair claims a growing number of trees in the Greater Klang Valley are being felled unnecessarily.

PETALING JAYA: 

A green activist has called on Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to explain why three decades-old trees standing outside his home in Bangsar have been chopped down.

Chandran Nair, who is also an entrepreneur, author and FMT columnist, said DBKL cited “safety hazards” as the reason for removing the trees, which were approximately 30 to 40 years old.

However, he questioned the validity of this claim.

“We had an arborist of our own inspect the trees a few months ago, who said only one branch was a risk, which was then removed. All of a sudden, within three months, the entire tree has been removed.

“If there is a risk, there would normally be a tree expert to decide if the tree is going to fall and cause harm, in which case the tree must be cut. But trees just seem to disappear, cut at the stump,” Nair told FMT.

He said the contractor responsible for removing the trees was unable to produce any documentation explaining why the trees were considered a hazard.

“No one from DBKL is ever there either. It’s just a contractor. I have no ability to ask: Who gave you the right, and where is your paperwork? Where did the wood go? DBKL, please give us an answer.”

Nair also highlighted the stark contrast between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s advocacy for reforestation and actions on the ground.

The stump of one of the trees that was felled in Chandran Nair’s neighbourhood recently.

“The prime minister said: ‘If you cut one tree, plant a hundred.’ Yet, in my area, it looks like the mission is to cut a hundred and plant none. Even the prime minister is being treated like a fool on a hill.”

In a column published on FMT earlier this month, Nair pointed out that there were a growing number of trees in the Greater Klang Valley being felled unnecessarily.

He questioned the funding of these operations and where the valuable timber ends up.

He had said the absence of adequate oversight could open doors to illegal practices, such as funnelling timber into the biomass industry and black markets.

A setback?

More than a year ago, Nair took matters into his own hands, planting saplings to replace the stumps left behind by tree-felling.

To date, he and his helper have planted over a hundred saplings along the streets of Bangsar, with many of these trees now thriving in front of shop lots, houses and even schools.

Although the removal of three mature trees in front of his home feels like a setback, Nair remains determined and plans to replant them next week.

Chandran Nair has planted saplings in hundreds of tree stumps in the Bangsar area.

“DBKL promised me they would replant the trees, but there are more than 200 stumps just in the Lucky Garden and Bukit Bangsar area where trees have been cut over the last 10 years and DBKL have never turned up,” he said.

Nair called for DBKL to implement proper processes, such as implementing a trip ticket system that tracks and monitors timber from harvest to its final destination, ensuring legal and compliant transport.

“This situation demands better management and accountability. I come here to say, we’re going to challenge you. We’re going to make you accountable,” he said.