Pahang ruler Sultan Ahmad Shah is upset and saddened by illegal land clearing in Cameron Highlands for plantation purposes.

Describing it as a protracted ailment, the ruler called for all such activities to be halted with immediate effect.

"This has been happening for a long time, since the time of the British. It is time such illegal actives are stopped immediately.

"In this matter, I hope the federal government will help the state government overcome the problem,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Online.

The ruler was speaking to reporters after visiting Cameron Highlands today.

Last week, the Umno-linked New Straits Times reported that the Pahang royalty interfered in the work of local officers in Cameron Highlands and forced them to approve clearing on land that is meant to be preserved.

The daily also published what it said was a "yellow letter", a document purportedly issued by a member of the Pahang royal family, as an example of the "interference".

The report came in the wake of a deadly mudslide in Cameron Highlands, which killed five people, including a 13-year-old student.