{
  "id": 9043635,
  "title": "4 kerajaan negeri disaran melabur dalam ekopelancongan sebagai alternatif pembalakan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/4-kerajaan-negeri-disaran-melabur-dalam-ekopelancongan-sebagai",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T23:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/09/22/4-kerajaan-negeri-disaran-melabur-dalam-ekopelancongan-sebagai-alternatif-pembalakan"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Four Malaysian states, Pahang, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak, should consider long-term investments such as ecotourism to preserve national forest reserves, according to environmental preservation advocates. Preserving forests offers greater benefits than short-term profits from logging and deforestation, said Andrew Sebastian, President of the Malaysian Ecotourism and Preservation Association. The four states possess significant potential in nature-based tourism and should develop business plans to capitalize on their natural assets. Protecting forests is crucial not only for tourism potential but also for environmental impact and economic consequences of forest loss. Deforestation in areas like Kelantan can lead to landslides, water supply disruptions, flooding, increased drought risk, and human-animal conflicts, as well as threaten biodiversity. In February 2024, Taman Negara received 135,435 visitors, the highest annual record, up from 128,592 in 2023. Singaporean tourists contributed more than 60% of international visitors to Pahang, showing a special interest in eco-friendly and ecotourism products. In August 2022, Pahang rejected Sections 11 and 12 of the National Forestry (Resettlement) Act 2022, which required public consultation before releasing land from forest reserves and provided for equal or larger compensation land. Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak followed suit. These four states encompass 69.3% of the remaining forest reserves on the Peninsula. Although Perlis, Malacca, Selangor, and the Federal Territory accepted the provisions, Sebastian stated that legal intervention might only occur after damage has occurred. The president of Friends of Malaysia, Meenakshi Raman, said that the responsibility lies with lawmakers to investigate measures for safeguarding designated forest reserves. The state government already has the power to reserve forests without prior public notification or comprehensive discussion, which is an insufficient decision-making process. Sebastian suggested referring any forest reservation issues to the Land Council of Malaysia, which formulates national land policy to regulate, control, and standardize land use across Peninsular Malaysia. Pahang claims it has its own procedures and requirements for forest reservation, but Sebastian argued that the state's process is not equivalent to the protection established through legislation that the public can use as a benchmark, while Meenakshi contended that this explanation does not address why Pahang rejected the two provisions. President of the Malaysian Ecology Union, Ahmad Ismail, said that the decision on reservation should consider the role of forests, including flood mitigation, water supply, preserving biodiversity, and animal habitats. He urged a comprehensive study involving agencies responsible for forestry, wildlife, agriculture, fisheries, and water supply before any reservation is made, weighing the potential economic returns against the environmental, economic, and human impacts of forest loss.",
  "summary": "Penyokong pemuliharaan Andrew Sebastian kata kehilangan litupan hutan boleh meningkatkan risiko banjir, tanah runtuh, gangguan bekalan air dan kemarau.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "4 kerajaan negeri disaran melabur dalam ekopelancongan sebagai alternatif pembalakan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/4-kerajaan-negeri-disaran-melabur-dalam-ekopelancongan-sebagai-9048101",
        "published": "2026-09-21T23:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}