The Sarawak government will implement its controversial plan to corporatise the functions of the Forestry Department in April, despite strong opposition being registered within the department itself.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd (SFC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Hussein said in a statement issued last night that the department's functions would be taken over by SFC's wholly owned management company.

Abdul Aziz, who is also the state secretary and a brother-in-law of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, recently met with 12 staff union officials led by president Abdul Wahab Abdullah and secretary Mohamad Ali Yacob.

The union had earlier threatened to picket in front of the department's divisional office in Sibu but had called off the action.

Instead, it had sent a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong through the Prime Minister's Department. It recorded union members' concerns, in particular about jobs, as well as opposition to the corporatisation move.

Responding to this, Abdul Aziz said several options had been identified during the meeting. These include early retirement, job opportunities with the new company, outsourcing of job functions and transfer of employees to other government departments.

"Nobody will be worse off with this change. The government is committed to treating staff fairly through this transition," he said.

Abdul Aziz said the status of the Forestry Department had to be changed because the government was intent o­n fulfilling its pledge to implement the Sarawak Forestry Corporation Ordinance.

Driving forces

The new company would become "a new model in ensuring sustainable forest management in Sarawak".

This idea has been driven by the International Tropical Forestry Organisation, the 1997 financial crisis which affected the forestry sector, Vision 2020 objectives, and global consumer preference issues o­n forest products.

Staff for the new company will be sourced primarily from the department and job offers are to be made over the next two months.

Abdul Aziz said that corporatisation would inject a new culture in the company "that is business-oriented and focuses o­n values supporting sustainable forestry and personal development of staff".

Urging the union and other staff to support the change, he added: "The new model creates more opportunities for staff and improved performance rewards.

"Everyone in Sarawak will benefit from sustainable forestry revenue, improved tourism in our national parks, better protection of environmental values and more opportunities for our forestry industry to prosper."

The new company is run by a team headed by Canadian forestry management expert William Dumont as its chief executive officer.

Opposition objection

Earlier, DAP Sarawak chairperson Wong Ho Leng had described the move as "corporatisation in form, but privatisation in substance".

He said it was wrong for any government to privatise a nation's natural resources into the hands of a few people.

Until last night's statement, the issues had been shrouded in what Wong had described as "secrecy".

The Sarawak State Assembly passed a bill a few years ago to corporatise the forestry department. With a land mass of about 123,000 sq km, Sarawak is endowed with large tracts of natural forests which are commercially harvested o­n a big scale.

The timber industry has spawned some of the world's largest timber-based conglomerates and today employs some 100,000 people.

Sarawak's forests produce about 15 million cu m of log per year and generate an annual revenue of RM4 billion through exports of logs and finished timber products like plywood, timber dowels and mouldings.