Auditor defends reinstating Samling's cert, says locals refused to engage

Samling Group’s sustainable timber certification was reinstated after corrective measures put in place by the timber giant were found to be sufficient, auditor Sirim QAS International said.

Its audit found the timber company had made its best effort, despite “refusal” by some community members to engage, said Md Adha Rahmat, senior general manager of Sirim QAS International’s Management System Certification Department.

Samling in July 2023 lost its Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) for the Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit (FMU) in Limbang, Sarawak, after complaints from the local Penan community that Samling did not comply with the sustainable timber scheme’s requirements.

However, the certification was reinstated on Dec 6, to the dismay of the community, who are now seeking a no-logging zone carved out from the area to secure Penan heritage, their way of life, and livelihoods.

Sirim QAS International said that in an audit on Dec 4-6 last year, held following complaints, Samling was found to have made sufficient effort to engage the local community.

“It was observed during the audit that the FMU had encountered various challenges beyond its capacities, even with the assistance of the government.

“The challenges faced during the stakeholder consultation include the absence of specific villagers, resistance to the FMU reps entering villages, and refusal to participate in briefings,” Adha said in an email to Malaysiakini.

He added that the firm’s representative continued to engage with the locals even though no logging was taking place in the FMU.

“The audit team had seen and confirmed the rigorous efforts undertaken by the Ravenscourt FMU team to reach, notify or consult, and inform the Long Adang communities, Long Peresek, and Long Tevenga about conflict resolution mechanisms that would directly affect the communities including providing accessibility platforms for them to provide feedback on the matter,” he said.

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Last month, the Penans of Long Gita, Long Tevenga, Ba Nyakit, Long Adang, Ba Peresek, and Long Daun said they were dismayed that the certification was reinstated without their consent.

“We never agreed to this. We insist that still not all Penan communities in the area have been consulted and informed. We ask Sirim to withdraw the certificate again.

“As long as Samling has not marked our territories as community use and no-logging zones, we strongly oppose forest certification of the Ravenscourt FMU.

“We need these areas to continue our nomadic and semi-nomadic livelihood, the life of our ancestors,” said Ketua Baru, the leader of Long Gita, who is representing the Penans affected by the Ravenscourt FMU certification.

The MTCS is a voluntary scheme that provides independent assessment for forest management and chain of custody certification to ensure the sustainable use of Malaysian forests.

It is established under the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) and is endorsed by the Geneva-based Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) - the largest forest certification system in the world, used by 55 countries.

‘Some want sushi, some prefer pizza’

However, the local community said logging in the forests used by the Penans will undermine their traditional practices as it will pollute the rivers they fish in and impede their hunting practices as well as their gathering of medicinal herbs and sago.

In previous engagements with Malaysiakini, Samling repeatedly stressed that it had adhered to all free and prior informed consent (FPIC) requirements in sustainable forest certification.

The timber company continues to deny allegations of mismanagement of its Ravenscourt FMU as “baseless allegations” meant to smear the company.

Speaking in general about the requirements of the MTCS last year, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council said it is difficult to get agreement from all stakeholders.

“When (the auditor) goes to the village, maybe the people are not able to show up (for engagement). We’re not the Election Commission; we don’t go around and take votes. 

“Even within a family, every child will have different opinions about what to eat for dinner. Some want pizza, some prefer sushi. We’re in this situation and I don’t have any solution,” the MTCC representative said.

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