KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) today offered to work closely with Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to deal with illegal logging in the country’s largest state.

Dr KM Loi, TI-M’s deputy president and chair of its Forest Governance Integrity (FGI) project, welcomed Adenan’s pledge to protect Sarawak’s remaining forest cover and fight timber corruption, which the former described as a direct indicator of weak forest governance.

“A robust forest governance shall be implemented otherwise the industry will simply ignore those policies in favour of quick financial gains,” Loi said in a statement.

“Corruption and lack of transparency is the main driver of the lack of progress in dealing with illegal logging,” the senior anti-graft advocate added.

Yesterday, it was reported that Adenan made a promise to protect Sarawak’s forests from logging during a rare meeting with critics of alleged timber-related corruption in his state.

Activist group Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) said Adenan, in a speech in London, said no more timber concessions will be given out in Sarawak and that a forest is more valuable than being merely a source of timber.

“No more palm oil is needed — cukup (there is enough),” the Sarawak leader who took over the state’s reins about a year ago was quoted saying at the Malaysian High Commission in London.

Adenan also voiced his determination to combat illegal logging and timber corruption “until the last log is accounted for”, the group said.