Sabah Forestry Dept collected over RM155m revenue in 2023, says assistant minister

Malay Mail

KOTA KINABALU, April 23 — Sabah’s total forest revenue last year amounted to RM155,320,887 which includes all fees paid to the Sabah Forestry Department, said Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan.

Of this amount, RM93,270,201.64 is revenue from timber royalties while RM3,872,617.40 is revenue from the inspection fees of exported wood products.

“The surplus revenue of RM58.2 million is from other forest products such as fees for forest reserve occupancy permits, license renewal fees, agroforestry royalties like rubber and oil palm, vehicle registration fees, and others,” said Nizam.

He said this during the State Assembly sitting today in reply to a question from opposition leader Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

For this year, the total collection of round timber royalties is RM28.3 million, while the revenue from the inspection fees of exported wood products is RM629,672 while the collection from other forest products is approximately RM10.75 million.

Nizam said there are no fees collected for wood processed in local timber mills as all collections on round timber have already been imposed in the production areas (at source), before being sent to processing mills.