‘Logging to benefit Sabah first’

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will stop the export of its logs overseas so that local industries get priority to timber.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said he would direct for the ban to be implemented immediately after instructing the Forestry Department.

“This ban will be on until further notice,” he said after a briefing at Yayasan Sabah here yesterday.

This move, he said, was to ensure logging activities benefited Saba­hans first.

“We want to make sure that our wealth is fully managed and maximised by Sabah first before exporting,” Shafie said.

Annually, the state exports between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes of logs to countries such as China, Japan, the Philippines and India.

Shafie said the meeting at Yayasan Sabah was to brief the officials on the new state government’s policies and direction.

Being an entity, which had helped Sabahans in terms of employment, education and business opportunities, Yayasan Sabah, said Shafie, would continue to play a huge role in the state’s socio-economic development.

However, he said, he was not satisfied with its current condition.

“Our direction now is to focus on strengthening existing programmes so that these may benefit Sabah to the fullest,” he said.

Shafie said ventures in grey areas or those with uncertain financial viability would cease.

The state government, he added, would also focus on providing sustainable assistance such as scholarships and job opportunities and not handouts to staff and its partners.

On claims by some Barisan Nasional leaders that “someone” had tried to sell Yayasan Sabah in the past, Shafie declined comment.

“However, I will be investigating where the plots of land allegedly meant to be sold are and who manages these,” he said.