Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean
Subject: Re: To all you weenies....
From: chuah@elec.canterbury.ac.nz (DanC)
Date: 10 Apr 92 17:39:40 +1200
Organization: Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

In article <1992Apr7.194329.1683@athena.mit.edu> zam@athena.mit.edu (Nor Aazizam Mohd Aasif) writes:

>>This is the same ignorance as that exhibited by the PM in his speech.
>>The main topic seems to be global warming due to CO2 etc.  However,
>>the real issue here is the loss of the rain forrest.
>
>	You have shown your naiveness by the above statement. 

What naiveness.  I don't care if the whole world says we should
or should not cut down out forests.  I say we shouldn't.  This
is solely my opinion.  It has been my opinion and what the rest
of the world says will not effect it.  So don't drag the issue 
to the world against the Malaysian govt. issue here.  The issue is 
here is the rain forest is precious and ought to be preserved.

May be I haven't spelled out the importance of the rain forest.  Here
goes:

a) It produces oxygen and absorbes CO2
b) It is like a spongue, soaking up the moisture, causing us to
   have tropical climate.  Without the rain forest, we would turn
   firstly in to grassland, the desert.
c) The roots of the trees provide a good support against soil erosion
d) It contasins *A LOT* of species which may be of use to mankind
e) It is a source of food.

The list goes on and on...

>>Global warming
>>is only one consequence of losing our rain forest.  FYI (and the
>>library can tell you more), every loging operation always results in
>>the loss of plant and animal species from the rain forest.  Sometimes,
>>the species got extinct even before science had a chance to discover it.
>>This is a GREAT loss to mankind.
>
>	Who is more important: animals or humans?  Logging is the
>third biggest money-earner for our country.  

>Unless you are one of those people who values animals more
>than you value humans...

For whom.  Who gets the money?  The poor people?  Not on your
life.  The rich are robbing the poor.  The people who depend on the
forest then suffer.  When the forest is gone, soil erosion will
be rampant.  Soil washed into the river kills the fish, depriving
the local people of a rich source of protein.  Get you facts 
straight first before.  The loss of the rain forest is a loss
every Malaysian.  Don't give me this animals vs humans crap.

>>It is a proven fact that there are
>>many plants in the rain forest that have medicinal value.  If we lose
>>one species, we lose the chance to study it for its medicinal value.
>>Who knows, it might even be able to cure AIDS.  So take your own 
>>advice.  Go to the library and read up about the rain forest before
>>discussing anymore.

>	Come on...  All these countries that ask us to stop logging do
>not give a jackshit about all the excuses that you have spewed forth
>so far.  

Once again, I DON'T CARE what the other countries say.  I say we stop.
I have given my reasons why it should stop.  I have yet to see you
say anything against the reasons I gave.  Get your act together.
You are sloppy.  Haven't they taught you anything in MIT, your 
so claimed "best university"?  If you want to rebut my arguement 
hit my points - don't give me some cracker bull story about the
foreigners against Malaysians.

>>There is nothing wrong with being anti-govt or criticising the govt.  
>>If the govt is wrong, we have a right to criticise it.  If we don't
>>like the policies of the govt, we have the right to be against it.
>
>	Yes, but the government is not wrong on this logging issue.
>We are within our rights to cut whatever trees we want because those
>are our trees.  

The govt. is the people's representative.  It we, the people, think
that the govt. should stop logging, it should.  The only right
thing for a govt. to do is to listen to its people.  This, however,
is lacking in the Malaysian govt.

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