Sime Darby Biggest Contributor To Conservation Of Ulu Segama Forest Reserve

Press Release

KOTA KINABALU, 30 January 2008 – Sime Darby announced today a commitment of RM25 million – over a period of 10 years -- to the conservation of Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah.

This makes Sime Darby the single largest private contributor to the project which encompasses the rehabilitation of the forest which is one of the largest orang utan conservation areas in the world.

This not only has local significance but is important globally as well. “The orang utans are part of the great apes and in light of what is happening to them in places like Africa, this is especially significant,” said Datuk Sam Mannan, the director of the Sabah Forestry Department.

Datuk Sam described Sime Darby’s contribution as a dream come true for the department. “Ulu Segama has the highest concentration of orang utans in Borneo, numbering 5,000. They are often referred to as an umbrella species, meaning that if you look after them all the other species in the forest like the pygmy elephants, the chimpanzees, etc will be taken care of.”

Speaking at a press conference to announce the contribution, Dato Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid, president and group chief executive of Sime Darby, said, “Conservation is a subject that is very close to my heart and is a part of Sime Darby’s sustainable development policy.”

“This is a long-term partnership and a 10-year commitment. Basically, we are contributing to 50% of the Sabah Forestry Department’s budget for the restoration of degraded forests,” he added.

Datuk Sam Mannan added that the project is not one where we can see results tomorrow and referred to it as a legacy plan. “This is for the next generation,” he said. The Ulu Segama Forest Reserve covers 250,000 hectares and of this, 160,000 needs immediate and close attention due to logging. The State government has stopped the logging in the area as of end 2007.

“If you leave it to Nature, it will take a long time to recover. But with the intervention of Man, this will be speeded up,” explained Datuk Sam. He also added that the RM25 million will be spent primarily on greening the area. “We may spend some on improving the infrastructure and staff recruitment but greening is priority.”

Research and development – an area Sime Darby wants to be actively involved in -- will also add value to the project. “We will second people to work on the project so this will raise awareness of the need to conserve and protect the environment,” said Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir.

Also discussed at the press conference was Sime Darby’s intention to work with Sawit Kinabalu on the development of Sawit Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Sandakan.

Dato Azhar Abdul Hamid, Executive Vice President, Plantation & Agri-Business Division said at present Sime Darby had 45,000 hectares of plantations mostly in Sandakan and Tawau.

The company is looking at ways to expand its investment in Sabah in the areas of bulking facilities where Sabah may become a staging point for exports to countries in the Far East like China and Japan.

At the same time, the company is also looking at the setting up of downstream activities such as refineries, oleochemical and biodiesel plants. There will also be investments in agricultural related education programmes.