Service of notices
(1) In this section, “notice” includes any notification, assessment, instrument or other document authorized or required by this Act to be served on any person or body.
(2) A notice may be served on a person or body for the purposes of this Act—
(a) by delivering the notice to the person;
(b) by delivering the notice—
(i) at the person’s usual or last-known place of abode or business, to his servant or to an adult member of his family; or
(ii) at the body’s registered or usual or last known place of business, to its servant or agent;
(c) by leaving the notice in a cover addressed to the person or body—
(i) at the person’s usual or last-known abode or place of business; or
(ii) at the body’s registered office or usual or last-known place of business; or
(d) by sending the notice by pre-paid registered post to the person or body at an address for service given in pursuance of any provisions of this Act or, where no such address has been given—
(i) at the person’s usual or last-known abode or place of business; or
(ii) at the body’s registered office or usual or last known place of business.
(3) A notice served by pre-paid registered post under paragraph
(1)(d) shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing the notice would be delivered in the ordinary course of post; and it shall be sufficient proof of service that the letter was properly addressed in accordance with that paragraph and placed in the post:
Provided that, where the letter is returned through the post undelivered, the notice shall not be deemed to have been served.
Action by and against the State Authority
(1) The Director may prosecute any offence, or institute any action, suit or other proceeding relating to any matter, under this Act.
(2) In any prosecution, action, suit or other proceeding to which this section applies, the Director may appear personally, or may be represented by any Federal Counsel, State Legal Adviser, advocate and solicitor or forest officer.
Presumptions
In any proceedings for an offence under this Act, in so far as it may be necessary to establish the offence charged, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proven—
(a) that any forest produce is the property of the State Authority;
(b) that any map, plan or chart purporting to be made by the authority of the Director is so made and accurate;
(c) that any mark placed on any tree, timber or any boundary mark of an area under a licence or permit within a permanent reserved forest or State land placed by or under the authority of a forest officer has been so placed and is accurate;
(d) that any person found within a permanent reserved forest or State land in possession of any forest produce has taken or removed such forest produce without a licence or permit issued under this Act; and
(e) that any person found within a permanent reserved forest or State land in possession of any machine, equipment or conveyance as specified in the Sixth Schedule intends to take or remove any forest produce.
Certificate of the Director as to the value of forest produce, etc.
(1) In any proceedings under this Act a certificate signed by the Director stating—
(a) the value of any forest produce;
(b) the amount of royalty, premium, cess and other charges payable in respect of any forest produce;
(c) the sum payable to the State Authority under subsection 24(2);
(d) the costs of repairing any damage caused by an offender,
shall be admissible in evidence and it shall be evidence of its contents, including the facts stated therein, without proof of the signature to such certificate.
(2) The provisions of this section shall apply notwithstanding anything contained in any other written law or rule of evidence to the contrary.
Protection of forest officers, police officers, members of the armed forces and other persons
No action or prosecution shall be brought, instituted or maintained in any court against any forest officer, police officer or member of the armed forces either personally or in his official capacity for or on account of or in respect of any act ordered or done by him or purporting to have been ordered or done by him for the purpose of carrying into effect this Act, and no suit or prosecution shall lie in any court against any other person for or
on account of or in respect of any act done or purporting to have been done by him under order, direction or instruction of any forest officer, police officer or member of the armed forces given for any such purpose as aforesaid:
Provided that the act of such officer or person was done in good faith and in the reasonable belief that it was necessary for the purpose intended to be served thereby.
Abuse of power
Whoever, in purported exercise of the powers under this Act, vexatiously and unnecessarily seizes or detains any forest produce, conveyance, books, documents or other things shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding *fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding **five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Recovery of money due to the State Authority
All money, other than fines or money recoverable as a fine, payable to the State Authority under this Act may be recovered by the State Authority by civil proceedings as a debt due to the State Authority.
Offences committed by corporations
Where a person charged with an offence under this Act is a body corporate, every person who, at the time of the commission of such offence, is a director or officer of that body corporate may be charged jointly in the same proceedings with the body corporate, and where the body corporate is convicted of the offence charged, every such director or officer shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence.
Offences committed by partner, servant or agent
Any person who would have been liable to any penalty for anything done or committed if the thing had been done or committed by him personally shall be liable to the same penalty if the thing has been done or committed by his partner, agent or servant.
*NOTE—Previously “two thousand ringgit” –see the National Forestry (Amendment) Act 1993 [Act A864]. *NOTE—Previously “one year” –see the National Forestry (Amendment) Act 1993 [Act A864].
Offences committed by licensee or holder of permit
Where any forest offence is committed by any person in relation to any licence or permit issued under this Act, such licensee or holder of permit shall be deemed to have committed that offence.
Rules
(1) The State Authority may make rules to carry out the objects and purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), such rules may—
(a) define and determine the number and extent of forest administrative and management divisions, units or sections;
(b) regulate or prohibit the kindling of fire on State land and alienated lands immediately adjoining any permanent reserved forest and prescribe the precautions and actions to be taken to prevent the spreading of fires;
(c) regulate or prohibit the felling, cutting, ringing, marking, lopping, tapping or injuring by fire or otherwise, of any tree or timber, the removal of timber, and the collection and removal of other forest produce generally;
(d) regulate the free grant or the grant at reduced rates for forest produce;
(e) regulate the methods to be employed by the licensee in taking forest produce on and from a licence area and all activities connected therewith including the precautions to be taken for the prevention and spread of fires;
(f) prohibit any dealings in specified kinds of forest produce;
(g) prescribe the place, routes, the mode and manner by which forest produce may be brought into, taken out of or moved within the State;
(h) prohibit the collection or removal of forest produce without a removal pass and to provide for the issue, production and return of such passes;
(i) in the case of timber formed into a raft or fastened to the foreshore or any river bank, prohibit the loosening or
setting adrift of such timber by any person not the owner thereof or not acting on behalf of the State Authority;
(j) provide for the stoppage, reporting, examination and marking of forest produce in transit;
(k) establish checking stations to which forest produce is to be brought by the person in charge of it for examination or for the realization of money due to the State Authority in respect thereof or in order that a mark may be affixed thereto for the purposes of this Act, and prescribe the conditions under which forest produce is to be brought to, detained at, and removed from, such checking stations;
(l) provide for the management and control of such checking stations;
(m) prescribe the methods of measuring forest produce for the purpose of assessing royalty, premium, cess or other charges payable under this Act;
(n) regulate the possession of marking hammers or other implements used for marking timber;
(o) regulate the use of property marks and prescribe the procedure and the fee payable for the registration of such marks;
(p) generally prescribe fees and other payments payable under this Act and the manner for collecting and disbursing such fees;
(q) prescribe forms to be used for the purposes of this Act;
(r) regulate the manner and standards of construction of forest roads and their use and their control;
(s) prescribe the rules and the manner for the multiple use of the forests;
(t) provide for matters relating to the issue of licences, minor licences, use permits, removal licences, road permits and entry permits;
(u) prescribe fees payable in respect of licences, minor licences, use permits, removal licences, road permits and entry permits;
(v) prescribe the penalties with which the contravention of any rules made under this section shall be punishable provided such penalties shall not exceed those prescribed by section 87;
(w) in so far as they do not fall within any of the preceding paragraphs, provide for all procedural and other matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
(3) Any rules made under this section may provide that any specified rule or rules shall not apply to any particular class of forest produce or to any particular part of the State.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
