Abstract
As a country that once relied heavily on the forestry industry, Malaysia is slowly trying to change their economic dependence to a more sustainable resource, however, the continued reliance on forest resources is creating a conflict between protection as well as development of the forest reserves. To better understand the conflict that exists within the debates among the political elites in Malaysia, this paper examines the speeches on permanent reserved forests by decision makers in the Malaysian Parliamentary debates. These parliamentary debates (n = 229) were analysed using content analysis where three major themes in PRFs were identified: (1) industry and economic development; (2) environmental protection, conservation and impact; and (3) social development and community rights. Results show that economic concerns related to agriculture, timber and development dominated the parliamentary debates throughout the early discussions and the topic of PRF has been framed as primarily an economic issue by the political elites throughout the period of analysis. While there have been environmental issues discussed frequently in the debates, little change has occurred in the discussions on PRFs, which means the fundamental policy underpinning the management of these forests has not changed since colonial times. Peaks in the discussion of permanent reserved forests are associated with key legislations and events within Malaysia. This analysis indicates that the governance of PRF is largely unchanged, and while the new government indicated change could occur, the fact that they fell within two years of election does not lend to a positive note. The analysis has implications for future governance of forestry in Malaysia, which is decidedly embedded within the principle of resource use, inherited from the British era. If forests are to be protected, the fundamental principle of resource use has to be reconstructed entirely.
Highlights
With the majority of its nations currently in the process of development and industrialization, Southeast Asia is notorious for tropical deforestation (Zeng et al, 2018)
To better understand this issue, this paper explores the ways in which forestry matters are debated in parliament by focusing on key areas of forest management, permanent reserved forests (PRFs), and how it is discussed among the political elites in the country
It is important to note that the word search function may have erroneously excluded discussions that do explicitly mention PRFs, but this matter was considered during word search by including the more generalized term of ‘hutan’ and followed by manual omission of parliamentary debates that did not refer to forest reserve
Summary
With the majority of its nations currently in the process of development and industrialization, Southeast Asia is notorious for tropical deforestation (Zeng et al, 2018). Countries like Cambodia, for instance, are gaining grounds on rural development (Riggs et al, 2020), while others, like Indonesia and Malaysia, are in the process of expansion or intensification of palm oil (Gatti et al, 2019). All of these developments and gains contribute to deforestation, and to land degradation. Deforestation and land degradation are of particular concern due to their association with climate change Efforts such as reforestation and community-based conservation programs attempt to reverse the adverse effects of forest development, all of these must take into account the significant economic and environmental trade-offs. To better understand this issue, this paper explores the ways in which forestry matters are debated in parliament by focusing on key areas of forest management, permanent reserved forests (PRFs), and how it is discussed among the political elites in the country
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
