Keadilan questions foreign control of State's resources
Daily Express
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah on Sunday questioned how the State Government could have so easily allowed a foreign takeover of Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) Sdn Bhd.
PKR Sabah Deputy Chairperson, Christina Liew, wanted to know whether there were any restrictive clauses in the initial agreement with the Lion Group to prevent it from selling its entire stake to a foreign entity.
Last Friday, India's leading paper manufacturer, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), took over a 97.78 per cent stake in SFI from Lion Group.
She said SFI is Malaysia's largest integrated pulp and paper mill, and reaps its raw materials from Sabah forests.
"Until BILT's acquisition, SFI belonged to Malaysian hands, with the Lion Group holding 97.78 per cent and the State Government controlling only a tiny 2.2 per cent stake.
With BILT acquiring Lion's stake, we are looking at a total concession area of 300,000 hectares being in foreign hands until 2094," she said in a statement, Sunday.
Liew contended that what appears to be a commercially profitable move for the Lion Group may not be in the best interest of Sabah in the long run.
She said selling off our forests may create more jobs in the short-term but it also means diminishing our resources and giving up control over State assets for up to 99 years.
As such, she said, the Chief Minister, as custodian of the State's natural resources, should have made decisions with wisdom and in good conscience, "so that the future generations will not have to pay for any mistake he or his administration makes today."
What PKR Sabah found even more preposterous is BILT's demand for more SFI concession areas.
BILT Managing Director Rajive R. Vederah told a press conference that they are currently in talks with the State Government for further expansion of the SFI concession area - another 58,000 hectares in addition to the existing concession of about 300,000 hectares (now already within BILT's control).
Liew said: "Scarcely has the ink dried on BILT's acquisition of a massive 97.78 per cent stake in SFI, we are confronted with its demand for even more concession areas."
Based on media reports, she said Vederah seems positive that the State Government would be amenable to his request for more concessions.
"It is highly disturbing that the State Government should even consider this request before Sabahans have had the chance to judge for themselves the impact of BILT's ownership and management of the massive area already under foreign control."
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah on Sunday questioned how the State Government could have so easily allowed a foreign takeover of Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) Sdn Bhd.
PKR Sabah Deputy Chairperson, Christina Liew, wanted to know whether there were any restrictive clauses in the initial agreement with the Lion Group to prevent it from selling its entire stake to a foreign entity.
Last Friday, India's leading paper manufacturer, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), took over a 97.78 per cent stake in SFI from Lion Group.
She said SFI is Malaysia's largest integrated pulp and paper mill, and reaps its raw materials from Sabah forests.
"Until BILT's acquisition, SFI belonged to Malaysian hands, with the Lion Group holding 97.78 per cent and the State Government controlling only a tiny 2.2 per cent stake.
With BILT acquiring Lion's stake, we are looking at a total concession area of 300,000 hectares being in foreign hands until 2094," she said in a statement, Sunday.
Liew contended that what appears to be a commercially profitable move for the Lion Group may not be in the best interest of Sabah in the long run.
She said selling off our forests may create more jobs in the short-term but it also means diminishing our resources and giving up control over State assets for up to 99 years.
As such, she said, the Chief Minister, as custodian of the State's natural resources, should have made decisions with wisdom and in good conscience, "so that the future generations will not have to pay for any mistake he or his administration makes today."
What PKR Sabah found even more preposterous is BILT's demand for more SFI concession areas.
BILT Managing Director Rajive R. Vederah told a press conference that they are currently in talks with the State Government for further expansion of the SFI concession area - another 58,000 hectares in addition to the existing concession of about 300,000 hectares (now already within BILT's control).
Liew said: "Scarcely has the ink dried on BILT's acquisition of a massive 97.78 per cent stake in SFI, we are confronted with its demand for even more concession areas."
Based on media reports, she said Vederah seems positive that the State Government would be amenable to his request for more concessions.
"It is highly disturbing that the State Government should even consider this request before Sabahans have had the chance to judge for themselves the impact of BILT's ownership and management of the massive area already under foreign control."
Labels: COLORFUL SABAH
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