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2014 will be tough year for <b>Sabah</b> timber industry – STIA <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

2014 will be tough year for <b>Sabah</b> timber industry – STIA <b>...</b>

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 03:36 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) said the timber industry will continue to face difficulty in doing business in 2014.

With shortage of raw material, performance of the wood-based industry in Sabah is not likely to show great enhancement, said its president, Datuk James Hwong You Chuaang.

There may be improvement in pricing due to the continuous demand for the high quality timber originating from Sabah but volume will not be significantly visible due to shortage and irregular supply of logs and unfavorable weather condition, he said in his new year message yesterday.

According to Hwong, the continuous shortage of raw material supply in view of the implementation of the Sustainable Forest Management policy since the 1990s to conserve and protect the forest resources, is affecting the initiative of the industry to venture into further downstream processing.

With the dwindling supply of logs, it is very hard for the timber players to get sufficient raw material to be processed even for local markets. As for the international market, the industry is faced with having to comply with buyer's requirement relating to legality of the timber sources. For example for Europe market, exporters will have to comply with the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) effective since March 2013. The same goes to United States where the exporters are required to adhere to the US Lacey Act.

The impending enforcement of the Australia Illegal Logging Prohibition Act (AILPA) 2012 which will be effective in November 2014 means exporters will have another rule to comply when exporting to Australia. Besides legality issues, timber players are also required to comply with requirements of each importing countries due to the increasing need for 'green' supply of timber products.

Hwong pointed out that the industry appreciates the sacrifices made by the state government to achieve good forest governance and sustainable forest management in the shortest time possible, despite the economic, financial and social challenges. However, it was deemed necessary that the government guides, advises and work together with the industry to go through this challenging time to ensure the highest level of success is achieved without sacrificing the downstream industry during the "waiting time".

He said the government should propose action plans to be put into action to guide and protect the remaining Sabah timber industries. One of the proposed immediate supporting action plans is to reduce the administrative importation fees from the current RM10/per m3 to RM5/per M3 as a symbolic signal of the full support of the government to this industry.

The recent decision by the State Government to increase the local processing logs royalty taking effect on January 1 2014 without prior consultation with the industry players is seen as another heavy financial burden on the shoulder of the industry. The increase in electricity tariff, the minimum wage requirement, high transportation cost due to the increase of diesel and petrol prices, high shipping cost, shortage of local workers and high cost in employing foreign workers are the major factors contributing to the exorbitant cost of doing business in Sabah, he said.

In 2013 logs production from natural forest was estimated to be in the region of 1.5–2.0 million m3 with 0.8–1.0 million m3 for plantation logs. Panel products such as plywood and laminated board recorded to be the highest products exported in terms of volume and value compared to the other major timber product.

The export of sawn timber for Jan-Nov 2013 decreased by 1.7% in terms of volume and 8.8% in terms of value compared to the corresponding period of 2012. The major market for Sabah's sawn timber comprised of Thailand, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Africa, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Belgium.

Plywood exports for Jan-Nov 2013 increased 1.6% in volume and 2.8% in value compared to corresponding period of 2012. Japan stood as the biggest market destination for Sabah's plywood followed by Peninsular Malaysia, Middle East, Korea, Mexico, USA and Mexico.

The export of veneer increased by 11.2% in terms of volume and decreased by 2.5% in value. Korea was the biggest buyer followed by Sarawak, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia.

Sabah exports of moulded wood recorded a decrease of 39.6% in terms of volume and 36.4% in terms of value. Japan topped the list followed by Germany, Australia, Maldives, Poland, Korea and Netherlands. The export of laminated board increased by 8.3% in volume and 7% in value compared to corresponding period of 2012. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and Canada were the top buyers of Sabah's laminated board.

The forestry sector contributed only about 4.05% amounted to RM176.5 million to the state revenue in the year of 2012.

Hwong reiterated that currently the timber sector is mainly depending on availability of plantation logs and imported raw material to survive in business. Therefore, it is hoped that the government will look into how to work with the industry to sustain and support the continuous existence of the wood-based sector in Sabah.

He said STIA would continue to play an active role in the development of the timber industry in Sabah. It is hoped that government can provide the necessary support and back-up plan such as organizing quarterly dialogue/review meeting with industry players to discuss related issues such as industry development program, action plans, etc., to provide guidance to the industry to move forward during this difficult period and remain competitive.

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League to raise <b>Sabah&#39;s</b> lion dance standard - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 03:27 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Dragon, Unicorn and Lion Dance Association is organizing an inaugural Sabah Lion Dance League Championship 2014 in March.

This is the first ever lion dance league in Malaysia.

The first round will be held at Tawau Community Hall in collaboration with The Federation of Chinese Association Tawau on March 29.

The winning lion dance troupe will be awarded with a trophy, medals and certificates.

The grand final will be held in Kota Kinabalu on December 7. The champion of the grand final will receive RM5,000 plus trophy, followed by RM3,000 for the first-runner up, RM2,000 for the second-runner up and RM1,000 for the third-runner up.

The league championship is only open to residents in Sabah and Labuan. Participants from other states must have been residing in Sabah for at least six months, as well as to produce their passports, student identification, work pass or Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as proof.

Sabah Dragon, Unicorn and Lion Dance Association president cum event chairman Danny Kok said the aim of the league championship was to elevate the standard of lion dance in Sabah to be on par with West Malaysian counterparts.

Kok said the top four troupes in national lion dance competitions obtained 9.2 points (over 10 points) and above, whilst Sabahan troupes only recorded between 8.0 to 9.0 points.

He revealed that the idea of a lion dance league came from basketball and football leagues, whereby all the players were professionals.

"The reason we are adopting a league format in this lion dance competition is to push participants to train more frequently.

"Once they go through the league championship, we will have a ranking of the lion dance troupes in Sabah as well," he said in a press conference here yesterday.

As a start, The Sabah Dragon, Unicorn and Lion Dance Association is holding two leagues this year, namely the first round in Tawau and the grand final in Kota Kinabalu. The association plans to increase the number of leagues in different locations in 2015.

He said the association aspired to elevate lion dance troupes in Sabah to semi-professional level rather than merely being a past time.

"We hope Sabah will win the World Lion Dance Championship in the future."

By registering with a league, it will also prevent lion dance troupe members from jumping ships during competitions.

"If they (lion dance troupe members) switch teams, action will be taken against them unless both teams have an agreement. That is our future aim," he added.

Participants are required to register before March 1. Registration fee is RM200 (non-refundable) plus another RM500 as deposit.

The organizing committee accepts up to 15 teams to compete in the league.

The ultimate champion of the grand final is determined by the sum of the points obtained in the first round and grand finale.

For more details or to register, visit Lot 4, Ground Floor, Taman Century, Jalan Penampang Lama, 88300, Kota Kinabalu; call 088-720932 or 019-8816889 (Tony Wong), fax to 088-717932, or email to sabahdragonlion@gmail.com. The draw will be held on March 8.

Also present at the press conference were event advisor Professor Dato' Dr Wilson Yong J.P., organizing chairman Francis Cham, organizing secretary Wong Suk Vui and competition director Lee Chee Fai.

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Police seize subsidised petrol in <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 11:21 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: The Marine Police thwarted an attempt to smuggle 6,000 litres of subsidised petrol to a neighbouring country through Kampung Pengaraban, Kudat, in Sabah, yesterday.

Sabah Region 4 Marine Police Commander ACP Mohamad Madun said in the operation, codenamed Op Paradise, a man was detained.

"We also seized a boat, four pump engines and 30 containers filled with the subsidised petrol," he said in his postings on the Malaysia Royal Police (PDRM)Facebook today.

He said the operation was conducted with the cooperation of the General Operations Force. — BERNAMA

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Focus on unity, Anwar tells opposition parties in <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo <b>...</b>

Posted: 26 Jan 2014 02:35 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: National opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reminded Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component parties in Sabah to focus on the unity of the coalition.

Anwar who was met at Sabah Parti KeADILan Rakyat's (PKR) Maulidur Rasul celebration at Millenium Centre along Jalan Lintas Kepayan here, said this when asked what had transpired at a breakfast meeting he had with the PR component parties in Sabah yesterday.

"I met the leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS. I reminded them to focus on the issue of unity not only in Pakatan but more so in racial and religious harmony because that is our strength, our focus in the thrust of our policy as opposed to Umno/BN.

"The PR leaders must come up with a common stand, common statements and go together to assure the Muslims, Kadazan and Chinese that we are united in dealing with all the issues," he said.

The PKR de-facto leader also said that during the meeting he spoke to the Sabah PR leaders about the economic issue in the state as well as the country.

"We need to explain because the government says everything is due to international market forces. I re-countered by saying that internationally the prices of sugar and petrol have gone down in the past one year but in Malaysia it continues to move up.

"On the issue of sugar, the problem is of course cronyism because one company controls so there is no competition. The wealth of the state has not changed, before the election this was our major criticism, the few are super rich the majority of the vast majority are not benefiting from the enormous wealth," he opined.

Anwar who was on a two-day working visit to Sabah, arrived on Saturday and proceeded to meet PKR members as well as supporters in Kudat and Kota Belud.

On his visit to Kadamaian in Kota Belud, he said that the support for PKR there was still very strong.

Kadamaian was won by PKR in the 13th general election but later lost the seat after its assemblyman, Jeremy Malajad, defected and is now aligned to Barisan Nasional (BN).

"The response to our program was good and although the majority of the constituents are KadazanDusun and Christians, the situation in relation to the 'Allah' and Bible seizure issues there is not as tense as the Umno/BN leaders are making it seemed," he stressed.

Anwar added that he took time to explain to the people about PR and PKR's stand on the 'Allah' and Bible seizure issues so that the people know and will not be confused.

He also disclosed that he met with the Sabah PKR supreme council members on Satuday night and spoke to them about the need to focus on racial as well as religious unity.

"Another issue I touched on was about the economic situation of the country which has resulted in a very moderate celebration of the Chinese New Year. We can see that the people's purchasing power has decreased and this is not only happening in Sabah but all over the country.

"If the Chinese community is also affected by the slow economy, it can be said that the other communities will be feeling the brunt of it too and the government has yet to address the problem," he said.

Meanwhile when asked to comment on Sabah PKR chief Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin's claim that support for PKR in some Muslim areas in the state had waned, Anwar said that there was truth to the claim and this was not only in Sabah but also in other states.

"This could be because the people there are not exposed to information such as the 'Allah' issue which is something the Christian community is feeling pressure about. But the way Umno is campaigning the issue is by claiming that Islam is under threat and if they do not make a stand, Muslims will lose their religious influence and political power.

"We therefore must go down to the ground to explain to the people, especially the grassroots about this issue because if we allow the situation to remain so, the perception will be that political power is in the hands of the Muslims and Islam is the federation's religion.

"Muslims are the majority in Malaysia so what are you (Umno) afraid of?" Anwar questioned and opined that it is just a political excuse to cover up the corruption cases and economic problems in the country.

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Call for high security IC in <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 03:51 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: STAR Sabah is urging the State government to implement the high tech, high-security identity card (IC) for Sabah as it is workable to secure the State's sovereignty and weed out fake ICs and MyKads.

STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan made the proposal yesterday following the recent Federal government's decision to issue the uniform high-security identification card for all government staff in a move to check impersonation and forging of identification documents of government employees.

"The civil servant's high-tech ID which can be ready in 30 minutes and the recent Home Ministry's plan to issue 2.5 million i-Kad with biometric security features for foreign workers proves that a high-tech, high security Sabah IC can be used to resolve the long-standing illegal immigrant problem in Sabah.

"The fake ICs and MyKads have even surfaced in the Peninsula with the emergence of fake Sabahans, foreigners holding fake ICs impersonating Sabahans," he said in a statement.

With the failure of the federal government to resolve the problem, Jeffrey said, the legal and moral duty to protect and safeguard Sabah's sovereignty and security and to safeguard the rights and interests of genuine Sabahans now rests with the Sabah government.

As such, he proposed that the State government initiate steps now to implement the high-tech, high security ID for Sabahans and another similar ID for all non-Sabahan residents in Sabah.

"From legal sources, the Sabah government has the authority to issue the Sabah IC and there are no prohibitions under the Federal Constitution.

"The Sabah IC and non-Sabahan Resident ID is the only way to ensure that the security and sovereignty of Sabah and genuine Sabahans are genuinely protected," stressed Jeffrey.

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