KOTA KINABALU – Warisan had a sustainable plan for paper mill Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd (SFI), even shelling RM4 million to pay for salaries.
Party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said when Warisan helmed the state, it spent money to pay SFI’s salaries because he had a bigger plan for the company.
“I had a plan to pull in an investor from China. I even went to their factory in Shenzhen. It is a huge factory and they produce tissue and paper, among others.
“The plan was that the state government will keep two golden shares that is equivalent to 30% share, while the company gets to keep 70%. The state government did not have to spend a single sen.
“The two golden shares are not regular ones as it gives the power to the state government to stop the extraction of timber in the area. But what happens now?”
Shafie said this in his speech during the Warisan annual conference in Hakka Hall here today.
The Sabah government had a 2% share in SFI before its logging contract was terminated in May.
In 2017, SFI faced financial difficulties when it was bought over by Indian paper manufacturer Ballarpur Industries Ltd. A company named Pelangi Prestasi Sdn Bhd was set to take over SFI, but Warisan refused to issue a new timber licence to Pelangi after it assumed leadership.
This left SFI without an official owner since May 2018, but Warisan continued to pay the salaries of more than 2,000 SFI workers until it lost the state election to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in September last year.
“They (previous BN government) were going to sell SFI, but when Warisan became government, I said no, I want to manage it to make sure that it becomes the right platform for us to produce, to help the people in Sipitang.
“I had done my research and found that the raw material that we produce is not even sufficient to meet the demand of the China company. That is why I say that this is a sustainable business. This could have helped the people in Sindumin, in Sipitang,” Shafie said.
After the SFI issue, the GRS government now creates the carbon credit issue, he said.
“Do they think that the Caucasians (orang putih) are stupid to give us RM3 billion of windfall money without looking into the forest (management)? It is not as simple as signing a mere memorandum of understanding; there will be hundreds of agreements.
“The company involved in the deal (Nature Conservation Agreement), Hoch Standard Pte Ltd, was registered with only SG$1,000 (RM3,087) capital. Why don’t we use the existing FMU (Forest Management Unit) – large palm oil companies that are currently selling their carbon?”
Shafie also criticised Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor for delegating the management of the carbon trade deal to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, for the state cabinet has no power to do so.
“The CM does not have the power to do this as stated under Article 28A of the Forest Enactment 1968. The one in power is the director of the Sabah Forestry Department (Sabah chief forest conservator Datuk Frederick Kugan). There must be clarity in division and delegation of power.
“This is why I worry for Sabah… Sabah Maju Jaya, but has huge debts (to the federal government), and our oil (revenue) is gone,” he added. – The Vibes, December 12, 2021
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