Certificate for Forest Management issued to the Kedah State FMU (FMC 0003) against the requirements of MC&I(Natural Forest) have been suspended with effect from 8 May 2019 until further notice. SIRIM QAS International Sdn. Bhd. made this decision after the Kedah State FMU failed to close a major Corrective Action Request (CAR) following the second surveillance audit carried out by SIRIM QAS International Sdn. Bhd. It is required that any major non-conformity raised must be adequately addressed within the given time for the FMU to maintain its certification.
In light of the above development, all logs sourced from the Permanent Reserved Forests (PRFs) in the Kedah State FMU beginning 8 May 2019 (i.e. all logs accompanied by Removal Passes issued dated 8 May 2019 and onwards) will not be recognised as PEFC certified material under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). Nevertheless, the logs originating from Kedah State FMU can be accepted as PEFC Controlled Sources, provided that a due diligence system has been implemented and does not involve sourcing of logs from conversion areas.