A key reason cited by the Selangor government to justify its proposal to degazette a valuable forest tract in Kuala Langat district is the frequent occurrence of fires which, it claimed, has already degraded 40 percent of the forest.

Samsul Anak Senin, an Orang Asli from the Temuan ethnic group who lives in a village on the fringes of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR), said it is hard to believe that the forest has diminished in value...