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KUCHING, Aug 1: Zainal Abidin Abdullah takes office as the new general manager of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) effective today.
According to a press release, as a seasoned professional with more than 30 years of experience in forestry and timber sectors, Zainal brings extensive knowledge and experience in strategic planning for the development of the sectors in consonance with national policies.
Having started his career as a forest officer for Forest Department Sarawak in 1992, Zainal was seconded to Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd (SFC) as Area Manager in 2003.
He held several positions at SFC including Security and Asset Protection Manager, Revenue Manager and Regional Manager before becoming its Deputy General Manager in June 2018.
During his tenure in SFC, Zainal played leadership roles in formulating strategies related to enforcement, ensuring compliance with forest ordinances and national park regulations.
He was also instrumental in assessing, collecting and enforcing payment of royalties, fees and other levies chargeable under these ordinances.
Because of his wealth of knowledge in sustainable forest management, forestry development, reforestation, rehabilitation and forest produce, he was engaged to draft the Forestry and Timber Industry Masterplan for Sarawak in 2019.
Zainal became the General Manager of Harwood Timber Sdn Bhd (HTSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of STIDC in February 2019. He played a significant role in drafting a strategic masterplan besides preparing and implementing performance metrics through Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for HTSB.
He was also appointed as Chairman of Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) on April 11, 2023.
“I am honoured for this great privilege to take on this new role amid the challenging time for the timber industry particularly in terms of raw materials and market accessibility apart from regulatory pressure from the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), among others.
“I look forward to working with STIDC’s management in addressing these issues meticulously and innovatively for the benefit of our stakeholders and at the same time focusing on environmental, social and governance principles in the timber industry,” said Zainal in the statement.
He hopes to pursue the legacy of his predecessors in driving sustainability of the timber industry in consonance with the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS 2030) to transform Sarawak into a high income and developed state by 2030.
Zainal, 54, graduated from Universiti Putra Malaysia with a Bachelor Degree in Forestry and later Corporate Master in Business Administration (Economic & Finance) from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
He succeeds Datu Hashim Bojet who retired on July 31, 2023.
“We are excited that Tuan Haji Zainal is joining STIDC to pursue our goals. His excellent leadership skills would be beneficial in driving sustainability in the pursuit of a vibrant timber industry in Sarawak,” said Hashim. — DayakDaily
