Samling Group Sdn Bhd has denied an allegation that its recent defamation suit against an NGO is meant to disrupt mediation between the company and native communities over logging activities in Sarawak.
In a media statement today, the company claimed that the suit by its two logging subsidiaries against Save Rivers, was due to the environmental group repeating allegations that its (company) Sirim Qas International certification was done without due compliance process.
Samling alleged that despite the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) on Aug 13 last year issuing a clarification that the company had fulfilled requirements for the Sirim Qas International, Save Rivers continued to carry claims to the contrary.
The company claimed that in the lead up to the filing of the lawsuit in June this year, it continuously tried to resolve the matter by reaching out to Save Rivers since last year.
Samling’s two subsidiaries, Samling Plywood (Miri) Sdn Bhd and Samling Plywood (Baramas) Sdn Bhd, are suing Save Rivers over seven articles carried by the environmental group’s website.
“Notwithstanding MTCC’s clarification, Save Rivers persistently repeated their allegations and made no effort to correct such allegations.
“On its part, Samling had endeavoured to find an amicable solution to the issue by reaching out personally to Save Rivers director Peter Kallang long before the commencement of the legal action. However, our efforts were not reciprocated.
“Instead, Save Rivers continued to repeat the defamatory allegations,” Samling Group claimed.
The company claimed that even when its earlier letter of demand was issued to Save Rivers, it had strived to remain conciliatory and acceded to the group’s request for an extension of time to respond to the legal letter.
“The statement from Bruno Manser Funds (BMF) that Samling instituted legal action against Save Rivers despite the initiation of a dispute resolution case by the MTCC is inaccurate, to say the least.
“Save Rivers has ample time and opportunity to respond to overtures by Samling and subsequently to the letter of demand.
“Furthermore, Samling exercised great restraint in this matter by waiting until the one year statutory limitation period applicable in Sarawak for defamation was about to expire, before filing our defamation suit against Save Rivers and its team. Our suit was filed on June 21, a mere two days before the deadline of June 23," Samling contended.
“The allegation by BMF that our suit was filed in bad faith in order to disrupt the dispute resolution case is patently untrue.
“The date for the filing of the suit was a result of a one-year process undertaken by Samling to find an amicable solution to the issue,” it added, claiming that the efforts were rebuffed.
On Aug 9, BMF and several other NGOs called for Samling to drop the suit against Save Rivers, claiming that the legal action sought to undermine an MTCC-organised mediation between Samling and indigenous communities.
The company today claimed that as a major player in the timber industry of Sarawak, Samling takes its responsibilities of ensuring sustainable timber production seriously and has instituted rigorous measures to ensure that all its forest management units obtain the internationally endorsed Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme issued by MTCC.
“By working together with state authorities as well as international bodies, Samling Group is confident that its sustainability efforts will not only ensure the future of the Sarawak timber industry, but more importantly, lead to the mutual benefit and well-being of the communities living in Sarawak.
“Having operated in Miri for the last 50 years, Samling is committed to the growth of our communities. We have contributed immeasurably to community development and empowerment through the building of roads, bridges, classrooms and health clinics.
“We have also provided employment to a large number of men and women from the local communities, who make up 80 percent of our total workforce in our Baram operations,” the company contended.
In an immediate response today, Kallang told Malaysiakini that Save Rivers has not defamed the company as they were seeking to bring attention to issues affecting the indigenous community.
“We have always maintained that we have not defamed them (Samling). We raised the issue based on genuine concern for the community,” the Save Rivers founder contended.
He added that they are ready to defend themselves against the suit, and that the company would need to prove its case in court. - Mkini
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