Merbau, one of the tallest trees in the tropical region, is now officially Malaysia’s national tree

23.8.2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Capable of towering up to 50m in height, the Merbau, one of the tallest trees in the tropical region, is now officially Malaysia’s national tree.

In announcing this, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the merbau could become a symbol of national pride.

“I would like to take the opportunity to announce that the merbau tree (Malacca teak) has been chosen as our national tree.

“With its hardy nature, I believe that all Malaysians can take the merbau as a symbol of national pride,” he said while opening the “Hutan Kita” exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Tower here.

Meanwhile, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar said the merbau was chosen as it could be found across Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak. “The hardwood tree that stands tall, towering, strong and big was selected as a symbol of the integrity of the nation’s forests as a result of sustainable management and the conservation of the Malaysian biodiversity,” he said.

He said the tree, which is known by the scientific name Intsia palembanica, was also a symbol of the importance of forests to the country’s industries and economy.

However, the tree is coming under increasing threat from loggers.

In his speech, Dr Mahathir also reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to maintain at least 50 per cent of its land area under forest cover to honour its pledge made during the Rio Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992.

“At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, as the prime minister back then, I made a pledge that Malaysia is committed to maintain at least 50 percent of our land mass under forest cover.

“Today, almost three decades later, I am proud to announce that we have not reneged on that pledge.”

He said Malaysia’s forest cover was currently at 55.3 per cent or 18.28 million hectares of its total land area, exceeding the government’s initial commitment made during the summit.

This, said the prime minister, represented the nation’s will and commitment to conserve and sustainably manage its forest as well as its flora and fauna.

He said it also represented Malaysia’s ability to not only keep its word to global partners but outdo its own expectations.

“Our forest cover today is even far higher than that of most large European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.”

He said despite Malaysia’s economic growth and rapid urbanisation, maintaining its forests and making existing agricultural land more productive to meet increasing demand could not have been achieved without adopting pragmatic, progressive and sustainable development policies.

The Land Conservation Act, 1960, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the National Forestry Act, 1984 were instrumental articles of legislation which provided the legal framework covering every aspect, including land use, wildlife protection, administration and conservation of forests.

However, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia has been accused of putting its need for development before the needs of its forests, drawing on the exploitation of deforestation by palm oil lobbyists.

“The claims linking palm oil to deforestation is baseless, unfair and unjustified.

“These claims bring a negative impact to Malaysia, which depends highly on the palm oil industry to raise the socioeconomic well-being of our people in order to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“It also has significant detrimental effects on oil palm growers, which include 650,000 smallholders as well as another 1.5 million people employed throughout the palm oil supply chain,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia’s palm oil industry was developed in a sustainable and responsible manner to ensure that it did not cause environmental degradation as well as avoid unsustainable practices such as destruction of forests and wildlife habitats as per the SDGs.

The “Hutan Kita — Journey through our Rainforest” exhibition is being held at the Tower Terrace of the Kuala Lumpur Tower from tomorrow until Sept 22. It is organised by the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.

The exhibition is an initiative under the Our Forest Conservation Programme 2019-2020 that showcases the richness of the country’s forests as well as efforts implemented for forest preservation and conservation.

It has set a national record as the largest exhibition of tropical rainforest trees with 850 species of tropical rainforest trees on display, and has gained recognition in the Malaysia Book of Records.

(NST, 23.8.2019)