Knowing that Malaysia has wonderful tropical forests and keeping in mind that a lot of it has been harvested for hardwoods or decimated to make way for plantations, what does sustainable forest management mean and how is it practised in Malaysia?

The bottomline is as our speaker, Bill Maynard, a consultant to WWF International, had put it. At the end of the day it is all about shopping!

His talk linked environmentally-concerned consumers with the products sourced from well-managed forests. Besides the regulatory authorities or NGOs, consumers are one of the most important groups to put pressure on the furniture companies, who in turn will pass the pressure on to the logging companies.

As long as no one “reminds” logging companies to practise sustainable forestry management, they will pursue their primary goal: profit maximisation. This can lead to massive forest exploitation, such as in the ’80s when Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil based their economic growth on the exploitation of their forests.

With sustainable forestry management 30-40% of the production capacity is given up. So how does it work and what exactly is Bill doing?

Most countries have stringent environmental laws in place, which theoretically ensure that environment conservation policies are in tune with sustainable development. But laws and regulations are not enough. It is all about enforcement.

Therefore, in 1994 the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was constituted. It is a NGO that developed Ten Principles of Good Forest Management. It demands that an operation should be environmentally, socially as well as economically sustainable.

A logging firm able to demonstrate that it fulfils these principles gets certified. The aim is to use but not abuse the forest. FSC is today the market leader and has the greatest market recognition. Locally, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) also issues certifications.

Certification and product labelling aid end-consumers in finding out if the wood/furniture they are buying comes from a sustainably managed forest.

To leverage the benefits of certification the WWF established the Global Forest Trade Network to promote partnerships between NGOs and manufacturers. Members are committed to gradually producing, trading and/or sourcing for independently, credibly certified forest products.

For example, furniture retailing giant, Ikea, is committed to buying a certain percentage from sustainable resources. As European and North American sustainable forests appear to be better exploited, it is now important to implement certification in the tropics.

The Malaysian Forest and Trade Network was thus established as a new local initiative to involve progressive Malaysian forest products companies and the WWF. Bill is helping to implement a framework for certification in Malaysia that will allow companies to get access to the trade network of the WWF. To be certified, forest products companies need to be audited. The audit process consists of 3 parts:

1. Checking the company’s management plans on how the forest is going to be managed;
2. Reviewing the plans to see if they match up to the requirements of certification standards; and
3. Checking / Monitoring what they do in the field to see if they say what they are going to do.

One of the important principles of sustainable forest management is to only harvest a certain number of trees to leave the forest mainly intact, thus ensuring that there are enough trees of the right size that can grow into the bigger size class before the next cutting cycle. An allowable cycle in Malaysia and in Indonesia is 35 years.

Furthermore, the forest stand structure should be kept, which means that a certain percentage of each different species must be retained to avoid monoculture. Mother trees should be kept and certain species that are very important for certain birds or animals to feed or nest must be kept as representative samples of different sorts of forest.

One important factor to ensure the biodiversity in the rainforest is to retain the level of canopy cover. Therefore, the planning of forest roads, the direction in which trees are felled, where log yards are placed etc, all play important roles.

This is only a selection of the parameters that loggers have to take into account. As tropical forests are much more diverse than in Europe or the US, it becomes clear that it is much harder work to ensure that these forests are managed in a sustainable manner.

As a result, most of the certified forests are in places like Sweden, whereas only 2% of certified forests are in the tropics. So there is still a lot to do in the future to ensure sustainable forest management.
- Julie Hansen

This Monday the explorers visited the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman, a traditional Malay house located in the centre of town on Jalan Stonor 2, next to the mock Tudor bungalow that houses Badan Warisan Malaysia (Heritage of Malaysia Trust).

We all got together for a tour of the house and an introduction of the ceramic exhibition of Mr. Cheah Yeow Seng and his students.

Ms. Ee Lin of Badan Warisan gave us a tour. She showed us around in the house and gave an explanation on how a Kedah village headman (penghulu) used to live, from where the house was located originally.

This house (rumah) is particularly large as it belonged to a village headman. His office was also in the residence and a fairly large area at the entrance was where meetings were held.

Ee Lin introduced us to Malay family life by showing us the living quarters, such as living room, bedrooms and kitchen. The house is furnished in the style of the early 1930s.

She explained the typical Malaysian carvings with which the house is decorated and also gave us insights on how the house was built.

After the tour we watched a film about the house. It showed how the house was carefully taken apart, transported and then built up again in the present location. With that we ended the first part of the morning on the Rumah Penghulu. Then there was time for tea and some delicious Malaysian snacks.

At Badan Warisan there is a space reserved for exhibitions and the current exhibition was on the pottery of Mr. Cheah Yeow Seng and his students.

Mr. Cheah came personally to show us around. He has extensive experience as a ceramist and pottery instructor. He told us about how the pottery was made with diverse techniques. The students had made vases, bowls, and also saucers and teacups. Some of the items were purely decorative, but others were glazed in such a way that they could be used in daily life.

It was a joy to look at all the diverse styles, different materials and colours. I was surprised at what beautiful items were created by the students.

Mr. Cheah’s own creations has a certain style and class that showed his long experience as a ceramist. Some of his creations are vases that had become statues of couples and some were statues on their own. The colours and glazing varied and went from matt black to shiny blue and lots of earthy shades.

Mr. Cheah has his own studio, called Touch of Clay, in Segambut not far from the centre of KL, where interested people can attend a course in which they can master the different techniques of pottery making. I can certainly recommend it as I have started it myself and am enjoying it greatly.

Here with we ended another great explorers’ morning. Members can take visitors to Badan Warisan everyday (except Sundays). More information can be found at http://www.badanwarisan.org.my
- Ardy Timmer

Chinese New Year has no fixed date; it always falls either in January or February every year. This year it falls on 22 January.

The celebrations stretch over 15 days, with special celebrations on the seventh, the ninth and the fifteenth days. Many dishes eaten at Chinese New Year are specially prepared and served only during this period.

What are the different celebrations over the 15 days? Why does Chinese New Year move every year? Join us for a celebratory morning and learn about some of the traditions that are practised.

Our hostesses, Ming and Leni, will talk us through the preparations for Chinese New Year and give us a taste of the special dishes that are traditionally served at this joyous period. So dress festively for the occasion, and Gong Xi Fa Chai to everyone!

Our speaker Kaycee Goh, a certified Reiki master and teacher from UAC Holistic Centre in Taman Melawati, was the epitome of serenity and charm. Throughout her talk the audience was swathed in an unmistakable feeling of wellbeing. The way Kaycee explained, Reiki seeks the wellbeing of body, mind and spirit and seems to be easily accessible to everyone, provided one’s intentions are sincere.

After relating how she became involved in Reiki, Kaycee touched briefly on its history, that it was an ancient healing method revived in Japan in the late 19th centuryby Dr Mikaomi Usui.

Rei means universal life. Ki means energy (from the environment or life source).

It is a therapy in which the outer energy flows through the master’s body via his/her hands onto the patient and energises healing on a physical, mental or emotional level. The master acts therefore as a mere channel. The master’s hands do not touch the patient but move about 5 cm above the body. Besides healing, the placing of hands rids the body of toxins, removes energy blocks and creates a feeling of deep relaxation. For this purpose the master and the patient must be in a pure and relaxed state. Cindy kindly volunteered for a treatment demonstration, which took about 15 minutes (a normal session lasts 45 mins–1 hr).

The “patient” and the audience were asked to close their eyes so that everyone may receive some form of energy. We were allowed to peep though!

Kaycee moved her hands very slowly over the 7 primary chakras of Cindy’s body, starting from the top of her head. The master thus identifies and concentrates on weak points.

Once done, she asked Cindy to describe what she had felt and a few members also described their sensations. The main comments were: warmth in hands, muscle pulls or jerks, tingling, tummy rumbles.

Kaycee added that some patients see images or feel a faster heart beat, some have negative thoughts and most are so relaxed that they fall asleep.

All these are signs of Reiki working away. Kaycee mentioned that “absent healing” is also possible.

Protection — Reiki applications are manifold. First and foremost, it can be used for personal protection at all times. Protection may be extended to your house, car and pets, to name but a few. You may also use it to calm overexcited children.

Classes — Reiki is taught at 3 levels. Level 1 is for self-healing. Level 2 deals with the use ofsymbols and colours, and is for healing others (it is also called “advanced healing technique”). Level 3 is for aspiring teachers. Surprisingly enough, levels 1 and 2 can be learned in 2 days.

There were many questions from the audience. Some members were more sceptical than others, but Kaycee managed to answer all queries very convincingly.

She concluded by stressing that Reiki is a spiritual and not a religious concept. For my part, I was amazed at the extent Reiki applies to all facets of life and the seeming ease with which it can be learned and applied.

Kaycee has also written a book about Reiki called Practising Reiki–Background & Philosophy, Treatment, Related Therapies (ISBN: 1-85534-362-2), available at the UAC.
- Colette Hassan

I woke up on the Tuesday morning with mixed feelings. I was going to an MCG event and that was good, but this time I had been given the job of writing up the occasion and I was a bit nervous about that when I set off for the home of our hostess Manju Saigal.

We gathered in a large airy room and then it was time to decide whether to sit inconspicuously at the back, or bravely in the front. The recipes were handed out and every seat was rapidly filled.

Manju introduced us to Suja who is a Tamil Brahmin. Although she had spent most of her life abroad, Suja is very knowledgeable of the customs of South India and was pleased to tell us about her early life in Madras.

Four dishes were demonstrated: Chicken Varuval, Sambar Dal, Cabbage with Coconut and Carrot Pachadi. Manju and Suja cleverly made the recipes attractive and full of flavour, but simple enough to tempt us to try them at home. We were given information on the historical uses of the ingredients and the various spices as they were added to the dishes. The aromatic qualities of Indian cooking added to our enjoyment and we became very enthusiastic about tasting the results.

Cindy had warned us to all to dress comfortably and the reason for this rapidly became apparent when we saw the banana leaf ‘plates’ laid out on the floor. It was surprising how many members were able to sit crossed legged with apparent comfort!

Spoons and forks were provided for the faint hearted but Suja introduced us to banana leaf etiquette and explained that you eat with the tips of your fingers only—a skill that takes practice.

The banana leaf is laid horizontally on the floor and the main dishes are traditionally served below the leaf ridge and the accompaniments above.

When the meal is finished the leaf is folded away from you, and in India the leaf would then be fed to livestock. The cuisine of South India is more rice-based than in the North. Vegetables are less overcooked, sour and bitter tastes are enjoyed and less meat eaten.

There are large numbers of vegetarians in the South and West of India for a number of traditional reasons. Suja explained that the Brahmins are a priestly caste and must try to conquer their physical desires, thus their cooking does not include garlic and onions (which are considered aphrodisiacs) or hot spices (which may lead to anger).

The food was delicious, full of flavour with each dish complementing the others. We learnt that to cook with the style and panache shown by Manju, great skill and knowledge is required plus prior preparation.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, lunch, the company of our hostesses, and mixing with other members. Thanks to the events planning committee for another successful occasion.

P/S. Being the scribe was not as arduous or daunting as I had feared, but in future I will certainly be more appreciative of the work done by other contributors!
- Joan Hunter