The articles and letters are reproduced below. We have to sustain this. This is the power of MNS members (and the public)! We have a voice and we should be vocal when we've got an opinion. The fight to save Belum is just beginning. Getting the authorities to realise that there's a lot of passion for Belum is one thing but to actually stop it is another. Let's keep it going!

A word of caution! Please note that the authorities seem to say that after checking, if the area is within a "ordinary" forest reserve (and not gazetted as a security area, catchment or wildlife sanctuary) logging can continue "if found suitable".

We must also realize that (from what I know) the area south of the Highway is forest reserve under the "production forest" classification. This means they can log! We must instead draw their attention to the results of the expedition (see below). We should be asking them why they are logging this particular area which is known to be rich. The area has been studied and documented.

Some facts about Belum.

Many new species have been described from the Temenggor Forest Reserve, especially near the Sungai Halong camp-site. They include: a new herb (Gesneriaceae), Didymocarpus dawnii a new palm, Areca tunku at least two new leaf-beetles a new aquatic fly that lives inside bamboo a new ant at least 25 new species of caddis-flies a new prawn a new genus and species of jumping spider.

There are also many new records:

An orchid found for the first time in Malaysia A population of Rafflesia that is intermediate between R. hasseltii and R. cantleyi. A total of 27 previously unrecorded leaf-beetles Four species of bats new to Malaysia.

The area is of major importance for big mammals such as elephants and tapirs, because the large forest area on relatively rich soils has high concentrations of fruit trees and other food plants. These support good-sized populations of mammals. The area is very important for hornbills with more than 2,000 hornbills recorded on several occasions. This is unprecedented anywhere in the world.

Therefore, Belum and Temenggor have a wide range of endemic plants and animals, newly discovered in 1993 onwards and found nowhere else in the world. A number of plants and animals known from other countries have been found here for the first time in Malaysia.

Belum and Temenggor are special because they house an important northern element of the flora and fauna of Malaysia that is not found in protected areas further south such as Taman Negara and Endau Rompin. Species diversity is higher here than in many other parts of the country, meaning that it is a very cost-effective place to conserve.