Sabah Advances with Updated TLAS and Industry Training for EU Market Readiness

19 December 2025

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Forestry Department, in collaboration with the European Union-funded EU-Malaysia Cooperation Facility, successfully organised two Training of Industry Workshops on the Updated Sabah Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS+). The first workshop took place on 17 December for stakeholders from the Sandakan and Tawau regions, followed by a second session on 18 December involving participants from Kota Kinabalu, Keningau, and Kudat.

These workshops brought together representatives from both upstream and downstream sectors of Sabah’s timber industry.

This Training of Industry programme marks a significant milestone in Sabah’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and modernise its TLAS framework in response to evolving global market requirements, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D).

These regulations impose increasingly rigorous standards on sustainable, deforestation-free supply chains, due diligence processes, and transparent risk management across the timber value chain.

Datuk Frederick Kugan, Chief Conservator of Forests, expressed his gratitude to the EU-Malaysia Cooperation Facility and the European Union for their technical and financial support in enhancing Sabah’s TLAS.

He emphasised that the updated system, now known as Sabah TLAS+, is essential for maintaining international market acceptance and increasing the competitiveness of Sabah’s timber products.

Zulkifli Suara, Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests, delivered the opening and welcome remarks, setting the tone for the workshops and highlighting the importance of industry involvement in the system’s development.

The official launch of Sabah TLAS+ is planned for early 2026. Initiated as a collaborative project in June 2024, the development of Sabah TLAS+ has involved extensive technical discussions, industry consultations, and mapping exercises. These efforts ensure that the updated framework not only meets international sustainability standards but also incorporates continuous improvements by the Sabah Forestry Department for the timber sector. Key enhancements include strengthened traceability, clearer legality checkpoints, improved monitoring mechanisms, and reinforced social safeguards to promote responsible conduct among all operators along the supply chain.

The workshops serve as a strategic platform to prepare the industry for upcoming international regulatory and market demands. Participants received briefings on the core requirements of the EUDR, including Malaysian legality standards, geolocation and traceability obligations, risk assessment methodologies, and due diligence documentation processes. The sessions also introduced the EU CS3D, which industries may adopt voluntarily. The CS3D framework requires businesses to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts across their entire value chains, aligning closely with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance. This approach aligns with Malaysia’s future policy directions and encourages companies to adopt more responsible business practices.

Furthermore, the training highlighted the new Sabah TLAS+ auditing approach and showcased Sabah’s geolocation and digital traceability initiatives, developed to meet the increasingly stringent expectations of global markets.

Participants from industry, the Sabah Forestry Department, and the EU-Malaysia Cooperation Facility experts stressed that the success of Sabah TLAS+ depends on strong industry participation and continuous improvement efforts. The Department reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable forest management and responsible timber production as vital to safeguarding market access, supporting rural livelihoods, and conserving Sabah’s forest resources.

As Sabah moves towards full implementation of Sabah TLAS+ in 2026, capacity-building initiatives such as these workshops play a vital role in supporting industry transition. Through ongoing collaboration with international partners like the European Union, government agencies, and industry stakeholders, Sabah aims to ensure responsible, resilient, and globally competitive timber production.