Tan Peng
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) extends its appreciation to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor for his affirmation that Sabah’s log export ban will be maintained.
STIA President Tan Peng Juan said the decision to support Sabah-based factories has come as a big relief to existing and new investors.
Long-term confidence in the further development of value-adding processing in Sabah has been further strengthened by this announcement, said Tan in a statement on Sunday.
The decision, he pointed out, will go far in maintaining job security for the approximately 24,000 employed in various sectors in the industry.
“This eagerly awaited confirmation has come at a very important time for the industry. Many initiatives being developed such as the STIMP (Sabah Timber Industry Masterplan) and SAFTIC (Sabah Forestry & Timber Industry Council) will now be able to be pushed forward.
“With the Chief Minister setting the direction forward for the industry via maintaining the log export ban policy, industry now can settle down and focus on critical mid- to long-term plans for the state of Sabah,” he said.
According to Tan, with the finalization of the STIMP (masterplan) in the coming weeks, SAFTIC would then be able to work closely with the government on ensuring that the key hurdles hampering the industry can be systematically tackled.
“The road forward will not be easy given that our natural resources are diminishing and Sabah’s tree plantation results have not been on target. However, the confirmation by the Chief Minister, is the first and most important step forward,” he stressed.
Tan went on to elaborate that the approach towards industrial tree plantations is one area that will see the biggest changes based on the Chief Minister’s decision.
Being an expensive endeavor and taking up to 10 years to bear fruit, a policy decision that is consistent will ensure that investors have full confidence that their investment in the state is secured, he pointed out.
Current and new investors in a capital intensive sector such as tree planting will also be able to plan ahead and ensure that their commercial targets match the aspirations of the government of the day, said Tan.
The complex downstream ecosystem that depends on the plantation supply chain will definitely benefit from government being steadfast in its policies, he said.
“What new product development, technology investment and overall additional job opportunities Sabah can expect from the natural forest sector will be another area that will also be heavily dependent on the maintaining of the log export ban,” said Tan.
STIA, according to him, has observed that investment has been delayed and in some instances withheld due to uncertainty on the new government’s policies pertaining to log exports.
The change in government in 2020, resulting in uncertainty in government policies has delayed many investment decisions, he claimed.
“Now that the Chief Minister has taken a stance on maintaining the log export ban, STIA believes that the right message is being shared with potential investors. It is STIA’s wish to assist the tropical wood processing industry, once deemed a sunset industry, in hope that it can be a flourishing sector again. It cannot be denied that the tropical log exports policy re-established in 1996 has not delivered the desired results to Sabah,” he stressed.
STIA, Tan said, realizes that issues faced by the tree plantation and natural forest sectors are long-term challenges that need quite some time to resolve and all decisions must be studied carefully.
As such Tan hopes that the Chief Minister and the relevant government agencies will assist in looking into certain supply chain issues (low hanging fruits) that can deliver some much needed short-term supply solutions to the industry.
Re-activation of dormant forest concessions (FMUs) and red-tape issues holding back plantation rubberwood supply are two examples of what the industry can benefit from immediately without putting further burden on our existing resources, he said.
“It is STIA’s hope that due consideration will be given to these issues while the government and industry work hand in hand to map out the next step for the whole industry,” said Tan, adding that he hopes the industry’s collaborative effort to kick start the STIMP and SAFTIC will be able to contribute to this challenging task. With the recent affirmation on log exports, there is much to hope for the industry.
Hajiji has given an assurance that the ban on exporting round logs introduced by the previous Warisan administration is still in force.
He said the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government felt the ban’s aim to help locals get access to supply of raw material was still beneficial to the local timber downstream industry.