Should the government turn its back on the olive branch offered by the Union of Forestry Employees Sarawak (UFES), its president warns that the whole tree could come crashing down.

The issue in question is the fate of more than 800 Forestry Department Employees, who despite serving for more than 20 years, did not have their contracts renewed.

The union is determined to fight till the end and its president Abdul Wahab Abdullah told malaysiakini today that even the Internal Security Act (ISA) will not deter it.

Feb 15 - is the deadline for the government and if negotiations fail to take place, the union could be forced to unveil its secret weapon - the Geneva-based Building and Wood Workers International (BWI).

BWI is made up of about 350 trade unions representing around 12 million members in 135 countries, including Malaysia.

According to Wahab, BWI is prepared to assist the union pursue its claims to the end, including calling for a ban on the export of logs and timber products not only from Sarawak but also Malaysia.

However, he said UFES would prefer to negotiate than turn to the international body, which could lead to severe economic repercussions.

Wahab said he wrote to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Jan 16, giving the government one month to come up with a favourable decision.

"We will wait until Feb 15 for a reply," he stressed.

'Prepared for ISA'

If the government spurns the offer, he said UFES would first continue with its appeal against last year's Court of Appeal decision allowing the state government's appeal against a lower court's decision in December 2004.

In July 2003, the union went to court and obtained a declaration that it was mandatory for the government to issue option letters for the employees to either opt to join the newly-formed Sarawak Forestry Corporation or stay put in the department.

However, this decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Wahab said the union lawyer had advised that its appeal to the Federal Court will be up for hearing in April this year.

"If the highest court in the land should reject our appeal, then we are left with little choice but to take the matter up with the international body," he added.

He said UFES deputy president Fatimah Mohd attended the BWI World Congress in Buenos Aries in December 2005 and pictures of UFES members picketing in Sarawak were shown to delegates from all over the world.

Asked whether if he was concerned that such a drastic action could lead to action being taken against him and other union officials, Wahab replied: "We are ready to be placed under the ISA if it must come to that."

However, he warned the government about the consequences of such an action on the country.

He said he was appealing to the prime minister to intervene as Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud had allegedly refused to listen to their plight.

All the union wants, he added, was for the affected employees to be reinstated and given their due rights and recongition.

Where's the money?

Wahab, who is still employed in the department as assistant conservator of forests, said he met a Umno delegation yesterday and briefed them on the issue involving union members vis-a-vis the state government.

He said the Umno delegation had asked for certain information to help take up the case on the union's behalf.

He told them of the union's concern that the Forestry Department's annual revenue from log royalities had decreased significantly from about RM1.2 billion six years ago to about RM600 million now despite log production remaining at more or less the same level.

"Quite obviously there have been a lot of questions about under declarations and why this is happening," he said, adding that the union would also write to the Anti-Corruption Agency.

According to Wahab, the department had also stopped publishing its annual reports for several year, especially since many of the department's functions were privatised.

Apart from these, the union president said he would also write to the Public Service Commission to protest the reported extension of the contract of the present Forestry Department director Cheong Ek Choong, who is now 62.

Cheong is also managing director of the state-owned Sarawak Forestry Corporation as well as Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd (SFCSB).