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(KSFA) to the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation
(STIDC) in Kuching. wordpress.org
The nine-member delegation led by KSFA president,
Cindy Kong, who said KSFA was keen to better understand
Sarawak’s timber industry and explore ways to strengthen
cooperation with STIDC.

“KSFA is also interested in exploring how Sarawak’s
timber and plywood resources could be further utilised to
produce higher-value furniture products for the Malaysian and
international markets,” she said. Bio-char products for export
STIDC General Manager, Zainal Abidin Abdullah said “the According to Chairman of the China Green Finance Committee,
STIDC is fully committed to supporting KSFA members interested Dr. Ma Jun, Sabah could generate billions of ringgit by
in establishing or expanding their operations in Sarawak”. He converting its vast biomass waste into value-added bio-char
also noted that Sarawak was moving towards greater utilisation products for export, particularly to China.
of timber from sustainable and renewable forest plantations, He said Sabah should capitalise on its abundant agricultural

in line with the State’s development aspirations under the and forestry waste instead of relying mainly on carbon credits
Post Covid- 19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030). and ecotourism revenue.
The Green Finance Committee (GFC) of the China Society for
MTC ‘Factory Transformation Programme’ Finance and Banking is a leading professional body established
The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) conducts targeted in 2015 under the guidance of the People's Bank of China.
outreach and sharing sessions for its Factory Transformation It drives national green finance policies, standards, product
Programme (FTP), designed to upgrade wood-based and innovation and international cooperation, helping mobilise

furniture manufacturing capabilities through Green 5S, Lean private capital for environmental and low-carbon projects.
Management, Innovation Management and Industry 4.0 adoption. Instead of depending on the carbon credit market Jun said
Training and implementation modules cover Lean manufacturing Sabah could embrace the circular economy by converting
principles, waste reduction, continuous improvement, Green agricultural and timber waste into bio-char, a product in growing
5S practices and business digitalisation. global demand for industrial decarbonisation.
Regular stakeholder engagement and briefing sessions, “Sabah has abundant forestry biomass waste, including
often held in collaboration with expert bodies allow timber leaves and tree trunks that can be converted into biochar,
operators to witness live demonstrations of smart factory fertiliser and other value-added products. These can be
cells, automation and collaborative robots. used to decarbonise coal-fired power plants and the steel

The Factory Transformation Programme is considered a industry,” he said.
successful flagship initiative endorsed by Malaysia's Ministry Bio-char, produced by carbonising biomass or carbon-
of Plantation and Commodities. containing waste, is said to have high calorific value and
It effectively helps wood-based and timber manufacturing improved combustion characteristics while containing lower
enterprises upgrade operations, reduce costs, increase levels of ash, sulphur and nitrogen.
production capacity and improve global competitiveness These properties make it suitable as a substitute for fossil
through lean management. fuels in steelmaking and power generation.