KUANTAN: The Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) will continue to empower Bumiputera participation in the timber-based furniture industry.
This includes the setting up of a new subsidiary, CTCS Worldwide Sdn Bhd (CWSB), to further strengthen their participation in the sector by marketing their products.
MITB director-general Mohd Kheiruddin Mohd Rani said, CWSB was responsible for exploring local and international markets for Bumiputera timber-based furniture manufacturers.
"The Bumiputera entrepreneurs are creative in furniture manufacturing and interior designs for kitchen and bedroom furniture, among others.
"CWSB will approach government-linked companies (GLC), state bodies and such and link them to the entrepreneurs for housing projects as an example.
"The entrepreneurs will be appointed as a vendor and be given responsibility to supply furniture and other timber items for these projects," he said.
Kheiruddin said this after launching the Pahang Wood and Lifestyle Fair today (Sept 21) at Kuantan Parade, here, today.
He said CWSB, which was formed in January this year, has since garnered projects in Perak and Johor, as well as in the midst of finalising discussions with the Pahang and the Kelantan state governments.
Kheiruddin said firstly, they were focusing on the domestic market which he described as being "very big".
He said once the Bumiputera companies, mostly comprising small and medium enterprises, were stronger and more experienced, then they would be encouraged to explore the export market - dubbed the second phase.
"They have the quality and capacity to produce but the market is very competitive," he said, adding that only 10 to 13 companies were exporting their products abroad.
Kheiruddin said the Wood and Lifestyle Fair has also been a major catalyst in promoting Bumiputera products.
He said in the past three years, MTIB had recorded a total of RM35 million in sales, nearly 10 times more than its cost of RM3.5 million to organise the programme.
For the Pahang chapter, he said they were targeting RM2 million worth of sales from 13 vendors compared to last year's RM1.8 million achievement of only 10 vendors.
He urged everyone to visit the fair, which began on Friday and will end on the 29th, at Kuantan Parade from 10am to 10pm.
Pahang is the fourth stop after Kedah, Johor and Perak. The fair's final stop will be in Kuala Lumpur.
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