KUCHING, Jan 22 ― Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today said the state government will rigorously pursue the transformation of the logging and timber sector by strengthening the forest laws and policies.

He said obsolete laws and policies will be reviewed to ensure they are in line with the current development and best practices.

"The state government will also ensure that forest-related policies will be comprehensive, taking into account all forest functions from economic, environmental and social aspects,” he said in his address at the opening of the stakeholders consultation on the proposed forestry policies here.

He said the state government needs to consider the interest of all the stakeholders including forest industry investors, supporting businesses, timber workers, those communities who live or work in the neighbourhood of forestry activities, consumers of timber, environmental services providers, special interest groups, like educators, researchers and the public at large, when reviewing obsolete laws and policies

"We will also further strengthen our state forestry institutions to ensure more effective management of our forest,” he said, adding that the key task of forestry agencies will be streamlined to avoid overlapping functions among them and to create better synergy.

"Since Sarawak is a major log producing state in Malaysia, we must find new and innovative ways to sustain our forest resources while at the same time optimize the existing resources that we have,” he said.

The chief minister said the state government continue to equip the forest agencies with various skills and embrace latest technology in the conservation and management of the forest resources.

He stressed sustainable forest management requires timely and accurate information, and with the advancement of technologies, this information is readily and easily available with the snap of our finger. 

"This would enable decision-maker to make an informed and accurate decision,” he added.

The chief minister also stressed that Sarawak must strive to stay abreast with the latest technologies in the area of forest planning, monitoring, R&D and enforcement. 

"Drone for example is widely used in monitoring works especially in area where access is limited while geospatial technology is capable of capturing, storing, analyzing and displaying geographically referenced information in real time,” he said.

The chief minister said timber-based industry is one of the major economic sectors for the state, along with natural gas, petroleum and palm oil.

He said in 2017, the export value of timber and timber products was about RM6.13 billion, with plywood and veneer contributing RM3.4 billion, logs (RM1.2 billion), sawn timber (RM802 million) and fibreboard (RM308 million).

"These are mainly primary products contributing about RM5.7 billion or 93 per cent of the total export value for this sector,” he said.