Malaysian Businessmen Financing Theft of Indon Timber (fwd)

["M.G.G. Pillai" <pillai@mgg.pc.my>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 05 Mar 2000 03:43:21
From: tapol@gn.apc.org
Reply-To: "Conference act.indonesia" <indonesia-act@igc.org>
To: Recipients of indonesia-act <indonesia-act@igc.org>
Subject: Malaysian Businessmen Financing Theft of Indon Timber

From: TAPOL <tapol@gn.apc.org>
Subject: Malaysian Businessmen Financing Theft of Indon Timber 

Received from Joyo Indonesian News

Straits Times
March 5, 2000  

Malaysians financing wood thefts 

A group of university students has collected evidence in the form of 
photographs, slides and a 16-mm film of the thefts

JAKARTA -- A number of Malaysian businessmen are reportedly financing wood 
theft from a forest in Kapuas Hulu district in West Kalimantan province, near 
the border shared by Indonesia and Malaysia. 

"Nearly 60 to 80 trucks cross the border every day, each of them carrying 3 
cu m of wood from Nanga Badau forest in Kapuas Hulu," Environmental Research 
and Investigation Team (Teropong) coordinator Yuyun Kurniawan was quoted by 
Antara as saying on Thursday. 

The team, consisting of five students from Tanjungpura University in the 
provincial capital of Pontianak, conducted a survey on wood theft near the 
border last month, The Indonesian Observer reported. 

During the 10-day survey, the team said it managed to collect strong evidence 
of wood theft involving a number of the local residents who have allegedly 
received financial support from Malaysian businessmen. 

The businessmen had bribed crooked military and police personnel, as well as 
executives and legislators to get involved in the theft. 

The team said they have evidence in the form of photographs, slides and a 
16-mm film of the thefts. 

It displayed the evidence during an expose, which was attended by the 
chairman and members of the provincial legislative assembly's Commission B on 
finance, and West Kalimantan Forestry Department head Hings Abdul Karim. 

The team said the vehicles carrying the logs from the forest were Indonesian 
trucks with local licence plates, but when they reached the Nanga Badau 
border gate, the timber was unloaded and put into Malaysian trucks, and the 
Indonesian drivers received payment from the businessmen on the spot. 

One of the team members said the wood was sold in the neighbouring country 
for between 100,000 rupiah (S$22) and 500,000 rupiah, depending on the 
quality of the timber. 

Assembly Commission B head Syarief Abdullah Alwi said the thefts will be 
reported to the government. 



 

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