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Malaysian Government Ban On The Importation Of Logs From IndonesiaThe Government has made a decision to impose a total ban on the importation of logs from Indonesia with immediate effect. This is in reaction to the move by the Indonesian Government to ban the export of logs in October 2001 in order to combat the problem of illegal logging in that country. This decision has been taken in the interest of the country and to erase the negative perception against our timber industry. Recently, Malaysia's reputation has been tarnished because being alleged to be involved with trade in illegal timber from Indonesia. We have been accused of importing illegal logs from Indonesia and selling the timber products produced from these illegal logs to consumers worldwide. The Government views this seriously and therefore takes this action to impose a ban on the importation of logs from Indonesia to give assurance to our buyers that all timber and timber products exported from Malaysia are from legal and sustainable sources as well as to ensure that efforts to implement our national timber certification scheme under the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) will not be jeopardized. As far as the issue of illegal logging in Indonesia is concerned, Malaysia has always expressed the view that this is an internal problem and that Indonesia has to enforce its own laws and regulations. Malaysia cannot combat illegal logging in Indonesia since that would tantamount to infringing on the territorial rights of another sovereign country. In Malaysia, the issue of illegal logging is not a problem. The relevant laws have been amended and more importantly, effectively enforced. Those convicted of illegal logging can be subjected to stiff penalties and mandatory jail sentence. It is our expectation that with the imposition of this import ban, will correct whatever misconceptions others have concerning our timber trade and furthermore it is our wish to dissociate ourselves completely from the trade in illegal logs from Indonesia. We also do not wish the problem faced by Indonesia to be affecting our overall timber trade and certification scheme. The ban is with immediate effect and all logs from Indonesia entering Malaysia will be duly confiscated by the relevant authority. However, the importation of logs and timber products from other countries will not be affected.
Ministry of Primary Industries |
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MTC’s
