National

Malaysia Alleged to be Involved in Illegal Trade of Rare Wood
05 Pebruari 2004

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:According to a joint press release from the Telapak NGO and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a large smuggling syndicate based in Malaysia is involved in the illegal trade of Indonesian rare wood.

The wood involved is worth of tens of millions of dollars on the international market.



In the release, Telapak/EIA explained that Ramin, which is one of Indonesia’s rarest woods and not allowed to be exported, has been smuggled by sea from Sumatra to Pasir Gudang harbor in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

There the wood is dried, given a fake certificate of origin, packed in containers and then shipped to Hong Kong, China.

When the wood arrives in China, most of the Ramin is processed into picture frames and billiard cues.

These finished products are then exported all over the world, including to the USA as well as to European countries.



At Pasir Gudang harbor, Telapak/EIA discovered piles of dried Ramin ready to be shipped.

According to Telapak/EIA, the harbor authorities said that some 4,500 cubic meters of Ramin from Indonesia is shipped to China each month from Pasir Gudang.



The difference in price between illegal Ramin, US$20 per cubic meter, and the selling price of processed Ramin, US$700 per cubic meter, has provided smugglers with huge profits.



Mawar Kusuma - Tempo News Room