The Malay\u00adsian Tim\u00adber Asso\u00adci\u00adation (MTA) has called for imme\u00addi\u00adate gov\u00adern\u00adment inter\u00adven\u00adtion as the wood-based sec\u00adtor grapples with a mount\u00ading \u201ctriple bur\u00adden\u201d of expan\u00added Sales and Ser\u00advice Tax (SST), rising diesel prices and crit\u00adical for\u00adeign worker short\u00adages.<\/p>\n
MTA said the tim\u00adber and fur\u00adniture industry remains a key pil\u00adlar of the national eco\u00adnomy, sup\u00adport\u00ading thou\u00adsands of small and medium-sized enter\u00adprises (SMEs), sus\u00adtain\u00ading rural employ\u00adment, and gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00ading bil\u00adlions in export earn\u00adings.<\/p>\n
Its pres\u00adid\u00adent, Tan Peng Juan, warned that the industry is being squeezed by rising costs and labour con\u00adstraints, describ\u00ading the situ\u00adation as not just an industry issue but a broader eco\u00adnomic con\u00adcern.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny pro\u00adlonged dis\u00adrup\u00adtion to the sec\u00adtor risks far-reach\u00ading eco\u00adnomic con\u00adsequences, includ\u00ading job losses, weakened sup\u00adply chains, and erosion of global mar\u00adket share,\u201d Tan said in a state\u00adment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout urgent inter\u00adven\u00adtion, we risk los\u00ading not just mar\u00adgins, but Malay\u00adsia\u2019s pos\u00adi\u00adtion as a lead\u00ading global fur\u00adniture exporter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tan noted that the SST expan\u00adsion in July 2025 removed tax exemp\u00adtions for sawn tim\u00adber, trig\u00adger\u00ading cas\u00adcad\u00ading costs across the value chain.<\/p>\n
Unlike the pre\u00advi\u00adous Goods and Ser\u00advices Tax (GST) sys\u00adtem, he said SST does not allow input tax cred\u00adits, res\u00adult\u00ading in com\u00adpoun\u00added tax\u00ada\u00adtion at mul\u00adtiple pro\u00adduc\u00adtion stages.<\/p>\n
This has pushed down\u00adstream pro\u00adduc\u00adtion costs up by an estim\u00adated 8 to 12 per cent, while tight\u00aden\u00ading cash flow and weak\u00aden\u00ading the com\u00adpet\u00adit\u00adive\u00adness of Malay\u00adsian exports.<\/p>\n
MTA thus called on the Fin\u00adance Min\u00adistry to rein\u00adstate full tax exemp\u00adtion for sawn tim\u00adber and form\u00adally recog\u00adnise it as a raw mater\u00adial for con\u00adstruc\u00adtion mater\u00adi\u00adals, to elim\u00adin\u00adate cas\u00adcad\u00ading costs and restore export com\u00adpet\u00adit\u00adive\u00adness.<\/p>\n
At the same time, sur\u00adging diesel prices, reach\u00ading as high as RM5.95 per litre in Sandakan, are pla\u00adcing addi\u00adtional strain on an industry heav\u00adily reli\u00adant on fuel for extrac\u00adtion, trans\u00adport and oper\u00ada\u00adtions.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom forest extrac\u00adtion to longhaul trans\u00adport, oper\u00ada\u00adtions are fully fuel-depend\u00adent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Sabah and Sarawak, remote, off-grid sites rely on diesel not only for machinery and trans\u00adport, but also for power gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion\u2014 mag\u00adni\u00adfy\u00ading expos\u00adure to fuel cost shocks,\u201d Tan said.<\/p>\n
MTA pro\u00adposed tar\u00adgeted fuel sup\u00adport meas\u00adures, includ\u00ading a sub\u00adsidy quota of trans\u00adport rebate, and sug\u00adges\u00adted cap\u00adping diesel prices at RM5.00 per litre to sta\u00adbil\u00adise oper\u00ada\u00adtions.<\/p>\n
The sec\u00adtor is also facing acute labour short\u00adages, with rising recruit\u00adment costs and delays in quota approvals for\u00adcing many mills to oper\u00adate at around 60 per cent capa\u00adcity.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204,5812],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news","category-global-trends","topic-forestry","topic-furniture","topic-lumber","topic-wood-products","area-asia-middle-east","area-global"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n