Govt concerned over future of SFI – Tan
KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah is looking to understand the Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) plight and future plans.
He said the government, which is a minor SFI stakeholder, believed that the company was looking seriously into its predicament including the latest implementation of temporary layoff program.
“I don’t really know the present position of SFI, and I would like to find out what their future plans are,” he said.
“Whatever the problem is, I think the government is very concerned as to the future of SFI. It is not only about people working there, it is also an industry that we need to know, what has gone wrong.
“But whether the government will so-called step in or not, is more towards working out with their owners of their future plans before we talk about taking over or step into SFI. It is more important to see what SFI is going to for the future,” he added.
SFI was forced to implement a temporary layoff program for its employees due to financial constraints.
Despite the management taking several steps to put the operations back to normal, the financial constraints faced were topped off with numerous legal proceedings including winding-up petitions.
The company disclosed that the temporary layoff program would start on January 1, 2018 and would involve approximately 1,350 employees.
The program was announced on November 30 at the SFI hall in Sipitang which was attended by over 1,000 employees.