The Malaysian state of Sabah is also known as The Land Beneath the Wind and this name grew in meaning as typhoons battered the Philippines and Taiwan. As a recent visitor, Malaysia inspired some personal reflections on cultures, religions, relative wealth, family and, even, climbing Mount Kinabalu. Another reflection has been the forest and plantation industry. 
Sabah is known as the main Malaysian state for forestry and palm oil plantations. Along with Indonesia, Malaysia is often cited by some in the Australian timber industry as an example of bad international practices and a comparison with Australian industry standards and continued logging of old growth forests. However, it is highly unlikely many critics and vocal industry supporters have actually visited Malaysia and Sabah and, without defending Malaysian forestry and plantation practices, I thought it might be of benefit to provide extracts from pp1-3 The Borneo Post Friday 2 October 2009. The political, scientific and media messages concerning social, national, environmental and economic issues are of greatest interest and eerily familiar.
Voluntary forestry practice codes, wildlife corridors (retention of forest patches), logging riparian zones along watercourses, private timber reserves (landholdings), threatened species, slow reactions by the regulator to improve practices and government financial support all receive a mention. Either Malaysian forestry practices are poor, and by direct comparison, Tasmanian forestry practices are poor or Sabah forestry practices are world’s best practice and it is a sister state to Tasmania.
TT readers from each side of the fence may wish to provide their own commentary of, and insights into, the following news items. It would seem international forest products are highly competitive in trade and rhetoric.
Compulsory Acquisition for Wildlife Corridor
Tuaran: “Compulsory acquisition of land for the creation of a wildlife corridor in Sabah is one of the ways to ensure that plantation companies set aside a conservation area,” Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said. “I will support the effort to provide a corridor, even to acquire land compulsorily because this is in order to make our agriculture and tourism industries sustainable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun disclosed that there is a master plan for a wildlife corridor along Kinabatangan River but its implementation has been slow because it involves quite a complicated process. He however was of the opinion that plantation owners should contribute towards wildlife conservation voluntarily.
60pc of Sabah land set aside for conservation
Tuaran: State Land and Survey Department Director Datuk Osman Jamal has refuted claims that the government does not support conservation efforts. “In fact since the 1930’s the government has, under the Land Ordinance and Forest Enactment, set aside about 60% of its land mass for conservation purposes,” he said.
RM1 bln to develop forest plantations
Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government has set aside RM 1 billion for the development of 40,000 hectares of forest plantations in the country. “The Federal Government reserves 300,000 hectares for forest plantations in the next 15 years,” said (the Chairman of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board [MTIB]).
<Orangutan’s plight casts plantations in bad light
Tuaran: Despite the positive role of the palm oil industry in bringing revenue to the nation and government coffers, it has also faced adverse publicity which causes concern among the players. “Today, the issues are centred around deforestation and killing of wildlife, peat lands development and greenhouse gas emissions,” he said, adding, “It is still the issue of orangutan survival that manages to capture the most attention and bad publicity.”
The palm oil industry players, he pointed out, were constantly policed by a battery of both federal and state legislations that aimed to ensure that what they do is responsible and sustainable.
