By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, April 13: Sarawak’s timber industry must focus on producing high-value timber products such as furniture, engineered wood and biomass, says Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Awang Tengah, who is also Minister for International Trade, Industry and Investment (Mintred), said even though the world now talks about hydrogen and many other green energy sources, they still need biomass products.
According to him, there is also a high demand for biomass products from Japan and South Korea to replace coal, petroleum and nuclear energy as energy sources.
“In term of production of high-value products, the market demand is high all over the world. So we have to adjust and this is the way forward,” he said during the handing over of contributions from Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (Pusaka) and its subsidiary companies to welfare, charities, religious, education and non-governmental organisations held at Wisma Sumber Alam, here today.
He said apart from imposing mandatory forest management certification for long-term timber license holders and utilising planted forest as sources of raw materials to ensure sustainable forest management, Sarawak also plans to gazette more national park and wildlife sanctuaries.
He added that currently, Sarawak has managed to reach 87.3 per cent out of the targeted 1 million hectares of targeted areas.
“Our target is to gazette 1 million hectares by 2025,” he added.
Meanwhile, touching on the contribution, Awang Tengah said it is to help welfare organisations, charities, religious, education and NGOs financially to carry out their activities.
“Pusaka has been handing over these contributions since 1982, and it was held every year, except for the year 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
A total of RM284,000 were handed over to 62 organisations.
Also present were Mintred advisor Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais and Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development permanent secretary Datu Zaidi Mahdi. — DayakDaily
