As well as promoting Malaysian hardwoods and timber products, the Malaysian Timber Council used Interbuild to promote the work of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC). The national timber certification scheme is progressing towards international recognition with a new standard. The MTCC will continue in its role as national governing body while the independent assessors will become certification bodies accredited to the Department of Standards Malaysia, a National Accreditation Body.
In a Timber Zone seminar the MTCC’s chief executive officer Chew Lye Teng provided an update on the scheme, including action taken since the Central of Point of Expertise on Timber’s ruling that MTCC-certified timber was proof of legal harvesting.
MTCC senior manager Harnarinder Singh said many visitors to the stand were interested in the terms of the certification and that revisions to it would make it more robust. “It is based on the FSC’s Principles & Criteria, word for word,” he said.
