Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959

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. T...

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Published in:Forest and Society
Main Author: Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hasanuddin University 2021
Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85111113372&doi=10.24259%2ffs.v5i2.13341&partnerID=40&md5=0b13ded4fd9c1bc2136dfc2648c31cb7
id 2-s2.0-85111113372
spelling 2-s2.0-85111113372
Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
2021
Forest and Society
5
2
10.24259/fs.v5i2.13341
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85111113372&doi=10.24259%2ffs.v5i2.13341&partnerID=40&md5=0b13ded4fd9c1bc2136dfc2648c31cb7
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. © 2021 by Forest and Society.
Hasanuddin University
25494724
English
Article
All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access
author Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
spellingShingle Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
author_facet Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
author_sort Azmi A.; Jenkins R.
title Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
title_short Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
title_full Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
title_fullStr Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
title_full_unstemmed Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
title_sort Tree speech: An analysis of discourses on permanent reserved forests in malaysian debates since 1959
publishDate 2021
container_title Forest and Society
container_volume 5
container_issue 2
doi_str_mv 10.24259/fs.v5i2.13341
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85111113372&doi=10.24259%2ffs.v5i2.13341&partnerID=40&md5=0b13ded4fd9c1bc2136dfc2648c31cb7
description 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. © 2021 by Forest and Society.
publisher Hasanuddin University
issn 25494724
language English
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accesstype All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access
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