RIMBAWATCH (RW) has urged the authorities to investigate government-linked certification body Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd (Sirim) on their certification allowing timber to be extracted across Malaysia.  

The environmental watchdog, noting problems raised by other civil society groups on Sirim audits in Sarawak, urged the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) and the Department of Standards Malaysia, the national accreditation body, to conduct an investigation into Sirim audits of forest management. 

RW said investigations should reach back to 10 years earlier to evaluate the numerous conflicts documented by civil society groups and community lawyers over the past 10-15 years. 

This, they said, was to ensure that every case was resolved according to the (Malaysian Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management) MC&I/SFM standards and guidelines. 

“We also call on the (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) PEFC to declare a moratorium on their endorsement of the MTCS (Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme), and for top consumer governments such as Japan, the Netherlands, and the UK to further stop importing MTCS timber until all the issues identified can be rectified,” it said in a statement.  

RW said this was part of its efforts to counter the growing wave of greenwashing and has commenced investigations into the MTCC and its certification scheme. 

They said their investigations in Perak have identified significant flaws with Sirim audits of the state forest management unit (FMU), which sheds light on the ineffectiveness and inability of the current MTCS and PEFC systems and the veracity of Department of Standards Malaysia accreditation to credibly back up claims of “sustainable forest management”. 

RW said they found statements made by Sirim in their audit and surveillance reports surrounding the issue of Orang Asli (OA) land rights did not accurately represent the situation. 

“Sirim repeatedly made statements claiming that the Perak Forestry Department supported OA land rights at around the same time that the Perak chief minister publicly stated that customary land did not exist in Perak.  

“Within this timeframe, anti-logging blockades had been demolished by the authorities.” 

RW also said Sirim had falsely claimed there were no OA land rights conflicts in the FMU between 2019 and 2022.  

“However, during this time at least six land rights conflicts involving logging in OA traditional territories in the FMU were documented, two active logging blockades were held, and three Temiar villagers were arrested for protesting. 

“Sirim further claimed there were no court cases against the Perak Forestry Department over customary land, however, one was filed in 2019 by Cunex village against a number of respondents, including the forestry department, and is ongoing.” 

RW also said Sirim had claimed there were no land rights conflicts in the FMU after visiting five OA villages over three years of audits. 

“Four other villages filed official complaints to Sirim, which were acknowledged by it in its audit reports. How Sirim attempted to address and verify these complaints remains unknown.  

“Further, on one occasion, Sirim cancelled a site visit to a village which filed a complaint, on the advice of the Perak Forestry Department, the organisation they were supposed to be auditing. 

“Sirim also claimed that there was no conversion for timber plantations in the FMU in the 2020 audit, when satellite imagery clearly shows conversion logging within the FMU.” 

RW said in relation to their findings, they made the assessment that Sirim audits do not sufficiently address indigenous land rights issues.  

“Further, these audits essentially subscribed to the narrow government view that OA communities do not and cannot exercise land rights in the FMU.  

“This is contrary to MTCC’s guidance, which states that ‘in addressing sustainability requirements, forest certification requires the FMU manager to take actions that may go beyond the mandate of the federal, state and local laws’.” 

RW also questioned Sirim’s willingness and ability to uphold MTCS standards and produce a balanced or credible assessment of forest management.  

“Further, Sirim’s methodologies on monitoring forest change in the FMU, which do not appear to include remote sensing or satellite analysis, are unjustifiably antiquated and wholly insufficient to monitor timber extraction in Perak.  

“Finally, as Perak has not been suspended from MTCS certification despite the above issues, we question whether there are substantive benchmarks for suspension.” 

RW added that they had dismissed claims by Sirim, MTCC, and the PEFC that certified areas received sustainable forest management.  

“We also express our shock that timber is certified despite being linked to blatant violations of OA and human rights and deforestation.”– August 23, 2023.