Its CEO, Annie Ting, said the investigation should involve stakeholders to determine whether the concerns raised by the NGOs, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), were “genuinely reflective of the industry at large”.

On Sept 22, environmental and rights groups urged the EU to label Sarawak “high-risk” under new anti-deforestation rules to be implemented from the end of December.

They argued that Sarawak’s millions of hectares of ancient rainforests are at risk of being razed for timber and oil palm plantations supplying international markets leading to deforestation and violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.

Apart from HRW, the NGOs were RimbaWatch, Save Rivers, Keruan – Voices of the Penans, Bruno Manser Fonds, and The Borneo Project.

In a statement today, Ting described the claims as a blatant attempt to tarnish the reputation of an industry that has made significant strides in sustainable forest management.

She said it was “unjust and vicious” to label the entire industry as high risk over isolated cases, adding that the offenders involved in isolated cases should be punished accordingly.

“Have the NGOs engaged in dialogue with the Sarawak government and STA to make any effort to verify their claims before making sweeping allegations and demanding for Sarawak to be labelled as high risk over the whole industry?” she said.

Ting said the future of Sarawak’s timber industry, and the livelihoods of the thousands of people it supports, depends on a balanced and just decision, not one driven by isolated cases.

A hasty decision to label Sarawak as high risk based solely on unfounded allegations would be a grave injustice that could bring tremendous harm to Sarawak and the people’s livelihood, she said.

“Is this the modus operandi of the NGOs or is this what the NGOs want to see?” she asked.