Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar revealed today that the state government heeded his advice and stopped issuing logging quotas as far back as five years ago. — Picture via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar Facebook

JOHOR BARU, Feb 20 — Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar revealed today that the state government heeded his advice and stopped issuing logging quotas as far back as five years ago.

Johor Forestry Department director Datuk Jeffri Abd Rashid said the decision was made at the advice of Sultan Ibrahim, where the Johor government stopped the logging quota since 2014 to ensure that forests are not exploited.

“In fact, His Majesty has also surrendered the logging quotas allocated to him until now,” he said in a statement issued on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page today.

Earlier, Sultan Ibrahim granted an audience to Jeffri, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian and state secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani at the Mados Office in Istana Pasir Pelangi.

During the nearly one-hour-long meeting, Jeffri presented a forest report in Johor and the planning to be carried out by his department to Sultan Ibrahim.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar granted an audience to Datuk Jeffri Abd Rashid, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian and state secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani at the Mados Office in Istana Pasir Pelangi. — Picture via Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar Facebook

The Johor ruler said that enforcement to safeguard forest areas should be enhanced and action plans needed to be formulated for conservation of forests and wildlife.

This follows the recent gazette of Pulau Kukup as ‘sultanate land’ by Sultan Ibrahim to better protect the island in December last year.

Before that, a gazette dated October 25 last year, notifying that the state authorities will cancel Pulau Kukup as a national park under subsection 3(3) of the National Park Environment Enactment (Johor) 1989, had sparked concerns.