A Poignant Occasion For The Malaysian Timber Industry

One for the album: Tunku Osman. Dato' Seri Dr. Lim. Datuk Peter Chin and Dato Ismail (seated from left) with representatives of the timber industry associations. MTC and the Malaysian Timber Association (MTA) jointly organised a dinner on 29 April in Kuala Lumpur to bid farewell to former Minister of Primary Industries (now Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities) Dato' Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik and welcome the new Minister, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui. Following the recent reshuffle of Malaysia's Federal Cabinet, Dato' Seri Dr. Lim has been appointed the Minister of Energy, Water and Communications.

The occasion was especially poignant for MTC and the Malaysian timber industry, given the heights reached by the industry during Dato' Seri Dr. Lim's tenure as Minister of Primary Industries over the last 18 years. Also present at the event were Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Anifah Aman, Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Ng Lip Yong, Secretary-General, Datuk Dr. Abdullah Tahir and the Board and Exco Members of MTC and MTA, respectively.

In thanking the organisers, Dato' Seri Dr. Lim said he was delighted to see the unity evident in the Malaysian timber industry today. He recalled the challenging times, when he first took office as Minister of Primary Industries in 1986. He then had to understand and address the many challenges and grievances of the various sectors of the industry in Peninsular Malaysia. His immediate task then was to bring the many diverse interest groups in the industry to the negotiating table.

He thus mooted the idea for the formation of MTC, which he said, was to provide the timber industry sectors in Peninsular Malaysia an avenue to work together, among other things. Besides which, he introduced several measures including imposing an export levy on certain timber species to encourage local processing of timber. The levy imposition, he said, although unpopular was necessary to protect the local timber processing industry. The move has paid off with Malaysia's timber exports rising from RM4.7 million in 1986 to RM16.3 billion in 2003.

Through MTC and the MTA, the latter of which also represents the interest of the timber industry sectors in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, the Malaysian timber industry is today a unified force and a major player in the global market for tropical timber and timber products, he said. "With a total export value of US$133 billion, the world's timber market offers plenty of opportunities for everyone;" he said, adding that the Malaysian timber industry must as such channel their energies towards expanding their share of the global market. He congratulated Datuk Peter Chin on his appointment and assured his successor of his unwavering support to take the industry to greater heights.

Datuk Peter Chin (right) sharing a light moment with Tunku Osman. Datuk Peter Chin, who also spoke, said: "l am inheriting a portfolio which is well run and known throughout the world for its pragmatism. Each day after taking over the portfolio from Dato' Seri Dr. Lim, I learned so much of the issues which the Ministry had to grapple with. For me, appreciating the challenges he faced made me marvel at the way he handled them". "It is now my turn to continue from where he left off and for us to rise to greater heights."

The new Minister encouraged the timber fraternity to work closely with him to achieve greater success for the industry in the years to come. "To succeed in today's competitive environment posed by globalisation, we need to adapt to changes quickly and redefine the rules of the game. We have to work as a team or in a strategic partnership to harness each other's competencies;' said Datuk Peter Chin.

Earlier, MTA President, Tunku Tan Sri Osman Ahmad who is also MTC Chairman said that at this point of the Malaysian timber industry's life, the industry has never been more united than it is right now". Citing Dato' Seri Dr. Lim's appointment as the Minister of Primary Industries in 1986 as fortunate, Tunku Tan Sri Osman elaborated on the importance for the industry to unite.

"There are only 25 million Malaysians, which means that we cannot consume all that we can produce. So we must seek to enhance our wealth through the global market. The truth is that, exports from tropical developing countries account for only about 11% or US$15 billion of the total value of world timber exports, valued at approximately US$133 billion. The global cake is so big, and even with our combined installed capacity, it would still be hard for us to serve this US$133 billion market for timber-based products. Dato' Seri Dr. Lim saw this from the very first day he took over the Ministry."

Tunku Tan Sri Osman added, "The foundation has been laid, and it is now up to all of us to see that we remain strong for the global fight, not only to protect our markets, but also for our national pride and 'Malaysia Boleh' (can do) spirit. With the able leadership of Datuk Peter Chin, I am sure that we can enhance the position of the Malaysian timber industry as an important GDP-earner for the Malaysian economy."

Meanwhile, MTC Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Ismail Awang highlighted the birth of MTC, the brainchild of Dato' Seri Dr. Lim. Over the years, MTC's portfolio grew from countering the anti-tropical timber campaign mounted by western NGOs in the developed countries, to promoting and developing the timber trade. With Dato' Seri Dr. Lim's guidance and counsel, MTC set up its three regional offices in London in 1993, and Shanghai and Dubai in 1999. Apart from providing regular market updates and market intelligence, these regional offices also serve as bases for MTC to reach out to non-traditional markets for Malaysian timber products in these three regions.

According to Dato' Ismail ,the setting up of the regional offices proved to be one of the best marketing strategies in the first ten years of MTC's operations. In 1992, total timber exports to the EU stood at RM1.5 billion and this increased to RM2 billion by 2002. Additionally, non-EU countries that have been added into the "export destinations" list in the last few years include the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Norway and the Russian Federation. Furthermore, total export of Malaysian timber products to West Asia was RM586 million in 1988. By 2002, this figure had grown to RM823 million.

"Dato' Seri Dr. Lim has led us on a remarkable journey that brought the timber industry recognition and respect of the world. The journey is far from over, but we are heading in the right direction and that is something we treasure most and are thankful for;' said Dato' Ismail, He added that the industry is confident that Datuk Peter Chin would continue to carry on the task of leading the industry in the same spirit and enthusiasm. "We would like to assure Datuk Peter Chin of our full commitment and support and look forward to his guidance and leadership,' he said.