Sabah to ban timber export

Shafie Apdal said the ban will be a temporary measure to safeguard the resources of the state.

Shafie speaking at the Sabah Foundation.

KOTA KINABALU: Shafie Apdal, who was sworn in as chief minister, says he will instruct the state Forestry Department to immediately impose a ban on the export of logs.

However, Shafie said this was only a temporary measure designed to safeguard the resources in Sabah.

Speaking to reporters after being briefed by the Sabah Foundation today, he said the ban would be in force until further notice.

“The purpose of this ban is to ensure that logging activities will benefit Sabahans first. We want to make sure our wealth is fully managed and maximised by Sabahans before it is exported,” he said.

Regarding the future of the foundation, Shafie said the foundation would try not to venture into activities that it was not familiar with.

“There are some grey areas that we are not experts in. We will decrease these high risk activities,” he said. -FMT