Gaharu in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: “Gaharu man” Gurdial Singh has a mission in life protecting his playground by exposing poachers who chop down the precious agarwood trees.

“People told me that it is dangerous to be a whistleblower. But I can't sit still while poachers steal the wood,” he said.

The 52-year-old veteran Hash runner has been regularly tipping The Star off about the poachers, believed to be foreigners, since February.

“I felt swift action will only be taken after the matter is highlighted in the media. I'm not doing it for publicity,” he said.

Last month, he tipped off The Star and state Forestry Department after noticing that five trees had been chopped in a jungle near Taman Lembah Permai in Tanjung Bungah.

The department detained two Cambodian men and recovered gaharu wood estimated to be worth between RM100,000 and RM200,000.

Gaharu is used for medicine and perfume and fetches a handsome prize in the Middle East.

“My wife was initially upset that I had gone to the media. I want my two children and all children to grow up knowing the importance of the trees,” he said.

Gurdial, a factory general manager, said his “playground” was the forest as he has been blazing jungle trails with the Penang Hash House Harriers for more than two decades.

He has done hundreds of runs through forests in China, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia and Indonesia.

“Penang has the best hill trails. My favourite are the hills in Batu Ferringhi,” he said.

He started noticing that a certain type of tree was being chopped all over the island since 2010.

Knowing the local forests well, Gurdial knew felling was being carried out illegally on state land.

“At the time, I didn't know that it was the prized agarwood trees but I sensed something fishy.

“It wasn't until I stumbled upon the felling near the Penang Botanic Gardens last year that I realised the value of these trees and why they were being chopped,” he said.

The department formed two teams to track down those responsible for poaching in state forest reserves.

These days, the Hash network of about 80 runners are also on high alert for agarwood poachers.