Kelantan forestry ISO expired in 2016, forest management cert withdrawn

Environment Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has defended logging in Kelantan as being ISO certified.

Checks by Malaysiakini show that the state's Forestry Department did receive the MS ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2012 for sustainable logging.

However, this certification expired in 2016 and there is no indication that it was renewed.

In 2016, Kelantan also had its Certificate for Forest Management revoked by Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd.

"The withdrawal of the certificate was due to the failure of Kelantan state Forestry Department in resolving satisfactorily the major non-conformity raised in the surveillance audit," read a 2016 statement posted on the Malaysian Timber Certification Council's (MTCC) website.

"With the withdrawal of the certificate, the Kelantan State FMU (Forest Management Unit) is no longer a PEFC-certified FMU under the MTCS (Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme)," it added.

PEFC, or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, is an international NGO that promotes sustainable forest management through independent third party certification.

A check on PEFC's database shows that Kompleks Perkayuan Kelantan Sdn Bhd, a state-owned company, also had its certification withdrawn.

At present, the only states with FMUs certified by the MTCC are Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Terengganu. - Mkini