Going back to the 1980’s and 90’s, Malaysia’s timber industry was one of the country’s thriving industries. At one point, it contributed more than 12% of Malaysia’s total export earnings.

The earnings has since dwindled down as the timber industry faced strong allegations and misconceptions regarding its practices globally, especially with the issue of deforestation becoming a topic of choice of late.

Many wonder if an industry profits from timber or wood products, can it then be a sustainable one. After all, the main focal activity is the act of cutting down trees from our lush tropical rainforests.

Speaking to Cheah Kam Huan, Chief Executive Office of the Malaysian Timber Council, Business Today discovers that many perceive the timber industry to be one that clears out the forests, when in fact; there are many protocols and best practices that are put into every step of the way.

Governing Council

The Malaysian Timber Council, or better known as MTC, is tasked by the government to ease campaigns against tropical timber and deforestation, as well as protect the rich biodiversity we have in our tropical rainforests.

“MTC was launched in 1992. Come January next year, we are going to be celebrating our 20th anniversary. We were mandated by the government to help the timber industry in Malaysia to tackle the negative conceptions we received from Western countries mostly,” says Cheah.

“The forest sector in Malaysia was once a very important sector with more than 12% total export earnings in the country. Now it is only contributing about 3%.”

Since then, the roles and responsibilities of MTC have evolved into helping the industry to supplement its raw material supply, in addition to expanding and developing new technologies for the industry.

MTC’s role also includes green advocacy, where the council addresses and tries to curb environmental concerns in the timber industry, such as illegal logging. Cheah adds: “We are also responsible in presenting a proper picture and figures to ensure little to no misconceptions arise (about the local timber industry).”

Trends of the Trade

Comparing the industry now and during its prime 1990’s, the industry has certainly shrunk in terms of volume produced in Malaysia. “Back then, we produced about 40 million cubic metres of timber a year. Now we only produce more or less 20 million cubic metres a year,” explains Cheah.

This is certainly a tangible effort taken by the Malaysian government to cut down log production in the country, as well as a testament to its acknowledgement of the importance of our natural forests.

Cheah also mentions that the production rate every year has seen a reduction. So, who knows we might see less dependency in our timber industry in the coming years.

Rather than to encroach the forest reserves, he explains that more production of logs is coming from tree plantations for industrial trees. “This is a trend we see happening globally. Malaysia is going towards this as well, since we cannot overly depend solely on our tropical forest,” adds Cheah.

Under the Plantation Forestry Programme announced by the government six years ago, there are plantations all over Malaysia, a total of 375,000 hectares, with fast growing tree species, such as rubber and teak, for commercial purposes.

In addition to contributing to the economy, the programme is helping those who are interested in running such tree plantation assistance through soft loans. The programme is set to run until the year 2020.

Says Cheah: “Investors will get a designated plot of land from their respective state governments to start the plantation. These lands are usually abandoned, degraded or idle. Of course, they are of agricultural status.”

Counter-Productive Issues

In recent news, Australia has expressed its interest in prohibiting the import and placement of illegal timber in the country. Other countries, like Japan and New Zealand, are also leaning towards this.

While Cheah agrees that there is a need for some form of regulations and best practices to be adhered to in the industry, he firmly believes that if export regulations imposed are too strict, many timber producing countries may not be able to comply.

The question remains on what the governing bodies consider illegal. Thus far, Malaysia is able to comply with these export regulations.

Stringent Best Practices

The timber industry itself has also evolved over the years, with policies leading towards sustainability. First up, the government enacted the National Forestry Act in 1984. This was followed by an amendment close to 10 years later. The act addresses the different categories of illegal logging, with the punishments becoming increasingly more severe.

For instance, the fine for unlicensed removal of forest produce from permanent reserved forest used to be RM10,000 or imprisonment not more than three years or both. Now, it is RM500,000 or imprisonment not less than a year but not more than 20 years.

For every “harvest” period, there will be an annual coupe determined. Interested parties would have to tender and bid for the contract to log at the designated areas. Even minute details including cutting unmarked trees or not cutting marked trees can land you with a large fine.

It was common to hear about illegal logging in Malaysia back then. “You don’t hear it as much nowadays because the industry is well-regulated. Usually when it happens, they are not from Malaysia. Villagers who are staying in the surrounding areas are also more aware and keen on reporting such incidences,” concludes Cheah.