Yayasan Sabah (YS) has stopped operations at the Tawau Plywood Complex which was operated by its forestry downstream subsidiary, Tawau Plywood Manufacturing Sdn Bhd since 2011. This has already affected 700 innocent workers and will eventually leave them jobless. The reason is that YS has no logs to feed the mills.
Is YS in deep financial trouble? If so, why?
The news is that the Tawau Plywood Complex is being sold to one of YS’s sweetheart contractor at the price of only RM9 million! That Tawau Plywood Complex was acquired at the price of RM80 million in 1997 (the value of Ringgit in 1997, without inflation adjustment).
YS holds the largest timber concession in Sabah. It is amazing that YS should face a shortage of logs to feed its own mills.
On the other hand, YS’ favourite contractors are having a boom time. The truth is that Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd, a YS company, had instead permitted its unique mobile sawmill licences to be privately used by its favourite contractors to derive superlative profits, especially Barisan Aman, Wincojaya, Hormat Jadi, Usahawan Borneo Holdings, Hasil Bagus and Ikhlas Kinabalu. Those sawmills are operated deep inside the jungle of the YS concession, hidden from public view. When the YS irregularities are being exposed by members of staff, it has become a standard operating procedure of corrupted senior officers of YS to victimise the vocal ones.
I urge the Forestry Department to explain how it can be sure that these mobile sawmills, hidden deep on the YS concession, are processing logs lawfully and that royalties are properly paid on the logs.