I am an US citizen who recently visited Malaysia for the first time. I was fortunate to have a car and was able to drive through most of the northern part of the country starting in Melaka, going north to Penang, east to Kota Bharu, then returning to Melaka via Taman Negara and Fraser's Hill.

I was saddened to see the uncontrolled destruction of Malaysia's vast rain forest. It does not take a PhD in environmental science to see that the overall emphasis by a few short-sighted people is on quick financial gain at the expense of long-term ecological husbandry.

It seemed like the roads were filled with trucks taking out old-growth trees from almost all parts of Malaysia. The people I talked to in the highlands commented on the changes in the climate over the past 20-30 years. The western areas of the country seemed to be drier than one would expect had the jungles remained.

I met one ornithologist who commented on the rapidly diminishing number of bird species. Others commented on the stress put on - and greatly reduced numbers of - remaining tigers, elephants and other large remaining mammals. Palm oil plantations covering much of Malaysia hold little of the environmental benefits of the original forests.

My advice to Malaysia is to put an immediate halt to this ongoing catastrophe. Malaysia's economic expansion can be done without simultaneously destroying its environment.

I hope Malaysia reverses this uncontrolled destruction of its greatest natural resource - its forests. These forests took many millenniums to evolve to their present health. It takes only a couple of generations to destroy not only the forests but the environmental health of such a beautiful country.

All Malaysians need to become educated as to the magnitude of what is happening. The government and leaders need to take immediate steps to protect this vital resource for future generations.