OUTLOOK
Muhtar Suhaili shares his take on the Malaysian timber industry and aspirations for the Malaysian Timber Council in a frank and candid interview.
YOUNG CEO LEADS FROM THE HEART
M
uhtar Suhaili is the youngest Chief Executive Officer the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has ever had. Standing at 181cm, this 39-year-old is a friendly, people-centric gentleman who puts everyone in his company at ease. Muhtar is also one of those who understand that effective leadership stems from well-adjusted leaders who know how to harness their emotional intelligence to bring out the best in others. “There is no magic formula. I just place the well-being of my staff and those I am in contact with at the heart of everything I do,” he said matter-of-factly. But behind the gentleness of this warmhearted, coolheaded CEO lies a steely character who is determined to persevere and lead his organisation out of the colossal clutches of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Malaysian timber industry, which is the third highest revenue contributor in the commodities sector after palm oil and rubber, has many untold stories and some of which have gone completely unnoticed and occasionally having the industry portrayed in bad light. 30 Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz
“People are still under the impression that it is bad to cut down trees and we harvest our logs indiscriminately, which is not true,” said Muhtar. “We need to keep our business going and how are we to do this if the industry is not sustainable. Imagine, if we were to cut everything down, where are we to go for raw materials? And Malaysian timber trees take anything between 40 and 60 years to mature… that is a lifetime. “We have been prudently managing our forest since 1901 using a system called Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) that stipulates only certain trees can be harvested, leaving behind the mother trees, and giving room for the younger trees to mature,” he elaborated. According to Muhtar, Malaysian timber products are held in high regard in countries like the United States, Japan, Europe and Australia that are known for their stringent production requirements and strict certification standards. “The Malaysian Timber Certification Council certifies timbers through its Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). MTCS is the first tropical timber certification scheme which is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. The
