Many companies are facing a further dilemma, as they are uncertain on whether they should increase their manpower or invest in machines to run operations.
KUALA LUMPUR: Continuous awareness and alignment with the government and all other stakeholders need to be done to ensure the sustainability of the Malaysian timber industry during this era of rapid change, said Malaysian Wood Moulding and Joinery Council (MWMJC) chairman George Yap, who is also a trustee of the Malaysian Timber Council and board member of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board.
“Currently, Malaysia’s timber industry is in prime position to take advantage of the global trade war. We should be able to get more positive impact compared to other Asean countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.
“Our main challenges now are the shortage of raw materials and the labour force. Lately, we have been burdened further by expensive freight charges and the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, which has disrupted the supply chain of timber raw materials.
“The side effects have prolonged even though industries have resumed operation. We are in the process of negotiating with the government via related agencies to redefine the timber industries to be an essential industry, at least on the upstream activities such as logging, sawmilling, as well as some processes that are mainly carried out in the open or highly ventilated space,” he shared.
Profit-sharing is one way to attract young generation talent to enter the timber industry, said Yap.He added, “With the scarcity of raw materials, we encourage timber industry players to work closely to create more value from the limited raw material resources. Collaboration between upstream and downstream sectors, as well as between East Malaysia and Peninsular Malaysia, is very much encouraged.
“In this regard, we have invited government agencies’ participation and intervention to accelerate these initiatives.
“For short-term strategy, we may need to learn from some of the successful examples like China and Vietnam. They do not have a better raw material situation than Malaysia, but they have better open import policies to support their timber industries in getting raw materials for their downstream activities.
“Alternative raw materials such as oil palm trunk or equivalent are in trend now. These value creations require the involvement of all stakeholders to work together to get it right effectively.
“For long-term planning, Malaysia needs to review, improve and provide a different approach in the forest plantation programme. This should include the involvement of all stakeholders, including planning, technical support, financing, logistics, commercialisation and so on.
“This is to ensure that the programme is highly motivated and that such efforts can tie in with future requirements and economics of the wood industry.”
In addition, he said the timber industry may have a less conducive working environment. Most of the labour force is traditionally very much dependent on foreign labour who have been well trained for the industry.
The transition period to mechanise the timber industry may need to be strategised with a win-win approach, such as optimising the existing skilled foreign labour by retaining them for a maximum possible period, while at the same time mechanising certain manufacturing processes.
“Without a proper approach in the transition period, the timber industry may end up with a sudden discontinuity of skills, as well as expediting competition from other countries who take all the trained foreign labour from Malaysia,” said Yap.
As such, MWMJC is exploring the possibility of getting approval from the government to allow refugees to work in the manufacturing sector for the transition period, as well as requesting more governmental support to expedite the application of PATI (immigrants without proper documentation) workers.
He added, “We also need fast track support from the council of local authorities to expedite the approval of workers accommodation under the 446 Compliance Act.
“As for the local talent and labour force, they are mainly young people who have more creativity, who like to create more income based on their contribution like being a Grab rider. With that, different approaches in recruitment and retention must be in place, such as profit sharing and other incentives.
“Many companies are having a dilemma on whether to pursue mechanisation investment during this uncertain period. I believe, with better government incentives and policies, we will be able to make better decisions in this aspect.”
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, MWMJC currently has more than 700 members, who are manufacturers, traders, specifiers and installers, as well as those from supporting industries such as machinery, tools, treatment, chemicals and hardware.
The focus of MWMJC is very much on the downstream activities and products for both the export and local markets.
The finished products include general mouldings, doors, windows, flooring, decking, skirting, picture frames, furniture, wood structure for building and marine applications and so on.
The vision of MWMJC, Yap stressed, is to support the timber industry to be one of the major sustainable economies in Malaysia.
“Timber is one of the greenest and sustainable building materials on earth. MWMJC’s mission is to create higher value out of this beautiful sustainable resource. In line with our 12th Malaysia Plan, we wish to support Malaysia to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” he concluded.
