National

Malaysia Refuses to Discuss Illegal Logging
Saturday, 21 August, 2004 | 18:43 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:During a preliminary meeting held to discuss ASEAN integration in priority sectors, the Malaysian and Singaporean delegations refused to talk about the smuggling of wood from Indonesia to the their countries.

Because of this, talks regarding ASEAN wood sector integration are threatened with failure.

Indonesian Department of Trade and Industry’s International Trade and Industry Cooperation Director-General M. Hutabarat believed the rejection was due to the fact that Malaysia and Singapore were the two countries mostly receiving smuggled wood from Indonesia.

“The debate on illegal logging will continue as Malaysian and Singaporean authorities did not wish to discuss the matter at all,” he said on Wednesday (19/08).

Hutabarat also said that the Malaysian and Singaporean delegations preferred to discuss cooperation in meeting the ASEAN countries’ needs for wood rather than discussing the matter of illegal wood.

According to him, ASEAN countries are currently attempting to integrate their priority sectors.

These sectors include agriculture, fishery, rubber, wood, textile and textile products, automotive, tourism, electronics, health services, e-ASEAN and air transportation.

If integration is approved, ASEAN countries are obliged to impose tariff liberalization, annul non-tariff barriers, increase cooperation between member countries and improve customs office regulations.

According to Hutabarat, the ASEAN Integration preliminary meeting, which was held August 17-20 at the ASEAN Secretary, Jakarta, was aimed at discussing agendas that will be brought up and approved at the ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting in Jakarta on September 3.

Environmental activists have been accusing Malaysia as the main destination of wood smuggling from Indonesia.

The illegal logs have entered Malaysia through Sarawak from West Kalimantan.

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Indonesia Longgena Ginting said that the refusal by Malaysia and Singapore to discuss the smuggling of wood from Indonesia was not new.

A similar refusal was also made during a Forest Law Enforcement and Governance meeting in 2001.

Both countries, particularly Malaysia, are very aware that the eradication of illegal logging and smuggling would have a negative impact on the industry of wood products in their countries.

“Therefore, their forest law facilitates wood smuggling,” said Ginting. (Ucok Ritonga-Tempo News Room)