Building Investment (January-February 2021)

ONE ON ONE
A TALK WITH
MR MOHD KHEIRUDDIN MOHD RANI
Director-General of Malaysian Timber Industry Board
Malaysian Timber Industry Board is
a statutory body accredited to the
Ministry of Plantation Industries and
Commodities (MPIC). Established
in 1973 by an Act of Parliament,
MTIB envisions becoming a prime
agency instrumental in promoting
and initiating development of the various sectors of the timber
industry and providing technical, marketing and other forms
of assistance to ensure their continued growth within a rapidly
industrialising Malaysian economy.
B&I recently met with Mr Mohd Kheiruddin bin Mohd
Rani, who now carries the torch as Director-General of MTIB,
succeeding Dato’ Dr Jalaluddin Harun effective September 2019,
to learn more on his vision and mission to drive the organisation
forward in accomplishing its objectives and in ensuring the
timber industry stays in business during COVID-19 pandemic.
B&I: Congratulations on your appointment as the new
Director General of MTIB. Can you briefly highlight your career
leading to the current position?
MK: Thank you for your kind wishes. I have been working
at MTIB for over 34 years now, beginning from 1986, serving
various divisions. I have served as Deputy Director General of
Development and Commercialisation in May 2019 prior to my
appointment as the Director General of MTIB.
B&I: What are your objectives, visions and future plans for
MTIB?
MK: Starting from this year, and within the next five years as
envisioned in the two guiding blueprints soon-to-be endorsed
by the MPIC, MTIB will be focusing on various strategic efforts to
sustain and modernise the Malaysian timber industry towards
increased resilience and inclusivity within the timber industry.
Even though the National Timber Industry Policy (NATIP) 2009-
2020 is coming to an end by December 2020 but the strategic
thrusts, programmes and outlined by the Policy are still relevant
to be expanded and extended within the new Malaysia’s Agri
Commodity Policy (DAKN-Subsector Timber Industry) 2021-2025,
which is currently at its final stage of formulation by MPIC.
In line with this new Policy and to support its frameworks,
objectives and strategic thrusts to ensure long-term sustainability
of the Malaysian timber industry in the near future and within
the 12 th Malaysia Plan period, MTIB in collaboration with all
the relevant stakeholders of the Malaysian timber industry has
also drafted the National Timber Industry Strategic Plan (NTISP)
2021-2025. This new five-year strategic action plan will serve as a
guidance for MTIB and the country’s timber industry at large on
the current and future strategic moves to realise the proposed
targets of achieving RM28 billion by 2025 and RM32.8 billion by
2030 in exports of timber products with a value-added ratio of
65:35. Thus, this enhances the NATIP’s value addition ratio of
60:40.
On a personal note, I hope to see the continuation of
the Forest Plantation Programme (FPP) that has been duly
implemented by MTIB / MPIC over the last 15 years to reduce
existing pressures on native forest as a source for raw materials
and to ensure its continuous availability for the domestic timber
industry. Tentatively, we have successfully acquired a soft loan
funding of RM500 million to be utilised by the industry over
the next five years, and we are now working to secure another
RM500 million through the 13 th Malaysia Plan 2025-2030.
To enhance inclusivity and shared prosperity under the FPP,
community forestry programmes will also be undertaken.
In addition, MTIB is working vigorously on the development
of value-added/downstream processing in the timber
manufacturing industry in order to materialised the NTISP’s new
value-added target ratio of 65:35. One subsector in the timber
industry targeted to undertake an aggressive shift towards
higher value-added creation is the furniture sector. Currently,
Malaysian furniture producers are largely considered as Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) where the level of creativity
and product innovation in respect of design and branding is still
minimal, therefore needed further enhancement. To reverse
this unfavourable situation, the timber industry must develop
or acquire the appropriate value-added processing technologies
and undertake strategic smart partnership collaboration in order
to become a successful Own Brand Manufacturer (OBM).
B&I: Statistically, what are the main sectors of timber
industry and the extent of diversification downstream?
MK: For the period of January to November 2020, Malaysia
exported around 65% value-added timber products and 35%
primary timber products. Value-added timber products normally
consist of BJC, mouldings and wooden furniture. Furniture is
Malaysia’s major timber product, which comprises approximately
47% of the total export of Malaysian timber and timber
products, with USA being our major market. This is followed by
plywood with total export worth RM2.6 billion and sawntimber
with total export worth RM2.2 billion.
Within the stipulated period, Malaysia imported RM6.1
billion worth of timber and timber products, an increase of
14% from RM5.3 billion in the previous corresponding period.
Furniture, primarily its components, worth RM1.7 billion was
also imported mostly from the Republic of China. Other major
18 Jan-Feb 2021 | www.b-i.biz