This Content Is Only For Subscribers
By Shikin Louis and Chris Bishop
KUCHING, Aug 14: Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) has been tasked to research fast-growing tree species, namely rubber, bamboo, acacia, Sentang, and Paulownia.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg believed these tree species could become Sarawak’s feedstock to produce timber-based and furniture-based products.
“Firstly, rubber. Malaysia is good in rubber where we have Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB), and they have a lab in the United Kingdom (Tun Abdul Razak Rubber Research Centre in Brickendonbury, Hertfordshire, London).
“We (Malaysia) are the expert of rubber, so maybe we can have a new hybrid of rubber that can grow fast, of which, based on our (Sarawak) soil, we can plant rubber.
“Sarawak has two types of timber: swamp timber and hill timber. The swamp timber is mostly from peat, so we have to study the correlation between the trees that can grow on peat.
“Meanwhile, on hilly timber, I think rubber can become a hilly timber upon research because we now have drones that can shoot seeds and embed them into the soil,” he said when officiating at STIDC’s Golden Jubilee celebration dinner held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here earlier tonight.
He also acknowledged the potential of bamboo as another source of feedstock for timber products, of which there has been various production of value-added products based on bamboo, such as bamboo bicycles.
“Another one is Sentang which is an indigenous tree. Maybe we can plant Sentang on certain soil, and I was made to understand that the tree’s grain is good for furniture,” he added.
Abang Johari also called on STIDC to collaborate with the Sarawak Land and Survey Department (JTS) and the Department of Agriculture (DOA), which has the data on soil structure to facilitate the research on planting the trees as well as the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) who have the expertise in the forest while STIDC embarks on downstream activities.
Also present were Abang Johari’s wife, Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang; Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof; Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan; Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian; Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar; Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki; and STIDC general manager Zainal Abidin Abdullah. — DayakDaily
