KUCHING: The Sarawak Forestry Department (JHS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Enforcement Leadership and Management University (ELMU) to strengthen the capacity and skills of forest enforcement officers in Sarawak and throughout Malaysia.
According to JHS Director, Datuk Hamden Mohammad, the collaboration will enable JHS officers to be sent to ELMU to participate in training programmes and professional development.
“We need to equip our officers with knowledge, laws, and new technologies to ensure our forests are protected because the situation now is very different compared to 20 years ago,” he said.
Hamden said this to the media after the opening ceremony of the Forest Protection and Enforcement Awareness Seminar Malaysia here on Thursday.
He said that Sarawak has the largest forest area in Malaysia, covering 62 per cent of the state and contributing 44 per cent to the country’s total forest area.
“Therefore, it is very important for us to ensure our forest areas are preserved so they remain not just for our current use, but also for future generations,” he added.
The seminar featured 120 forest enforcement officers and representatives to strengthen the national network of cooperation in forest conservation.
The MoU was signed by Hamden and ELMU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Dr Kasim Noor Mohamed, witnessed by JHS Deputy Director, Happysupina Sait, and ELMU School of Investigation Sciences’ Dean’ Assoc. Prof. Dr Pakhriazad Hassan Zaki.
