Antarctica

"A place from which to take the measure of the planet"
Barry Lopez

Terra Nullius today

Kelesau Naan, a Penan leader died possibly murdered late in 2007. He was one of the four plaintiffs in a landright case that has been awaiting judgement since 1998. The state of Sarawak insists that because the Penan hunt rather than cultivate they have no claim over the land on which they live. Kelesau Naan was one of the signatories on a petition to the British timber company Jewson to stop buying wood from the Samling Group, one of Malaysia biggest logging companies. Jewson’s eventually stopped buying timber from the disputed area. It’s a reminder that parts of Indonesia and Malaysia are very much frontier societies. The Weekend Australian Jan 5-6 2008

The management of Samling is given below.

And here is a link to Samling's press release which makes interesting reading.

Samling Global Limited is incorporated in Bermuda with "limited liability" and has recently purchased Brewsters in Australia.

Executive Directors

Yaw Chee Ming is the Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director of our Company. He is the Managing Director of both Lingui Developments Berhad and Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Berhad. He is also the Chief Executive Office and an Executive Director of Samling Strategic Corporation Sdn Bhd, one of our controlling shareholders. Mr. Yaw has over 20 years of extensive knowledge and experience in the timber industry. Under his leadership, the Group has established an international presence with highly integrated business operations. He spearheaded the commitment of the Group towards responsible forest management and has led the Group to various internationally recognized certifications for forest management and downstream operations. Mr. Yaw graduated from the University of Southern California in the United States with a Master of Business Administration degree.

Cheam Dow Toon is the Chief Finance Officer and an Executive Director of our Company. He is the Finance Director of both Lingui Developments Berhad and Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Berhad. He has over 17 years of experience in the timber industry and over 10 years in the oil palm industry. He has been with our Group since 1987. Mr Cheam is an associate member of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and a graduate of The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in the United Kingdom, and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. He completed the Wharton Advanced Management Programme at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Non-Executive Director

Chan Hua Eng is the Chairman of the Board and a Non-Executive Director of our Company. He is also the Chairman and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lingui Development Berhad and Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Berhad. Mr. Chan is also currently a director of other public listed companies in Malaysia. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in the United Kingdom. Mr. Chan is also a barrister of the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in the United Kingdom. He was admitted as a partner of Shearn Delamore & Co, Advocates & Solicitors in Malaysia in 1960 and retired as its senior partner in 1987. He is an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. He graduated from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor of Law (Honors) degree.

Independent Non-Executive Directors

Fung Ka Pun (alias K. B. Fung) is the Deputy Chairman and an Independent Non-Executive Director of our Company. Mr. Fung is the Executive Co-chairman of E2-Capital (Holdings) Limited, a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. He is also the founder and Chairman of Goodwill International (Holdings) Limited, a substantial shareholder (as defined in the Hong Kong Listing Rules) of E2-Capital (Holdings) Limited. Mr. Fung has over 30 years of experience in finance, securities and commodities trading and corporate finance. He is a member of the Association of International Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. Mr. Fung is also a director of a number of other listed companies in Hong Kong.

David William Oskin is an Independent Non-Executive Director of our Company. He is currently an Independent Director of Pacific Millennium Investment Company, an Independent Director of Goodman Global Inc., and an Independent Director of Big Earth Publishing. Mr. Oskin has more than 25 years of experience in the forest, wood, paper and packaging industries. From 1992 to 1996, he was the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Carter Holt Harvey Limited, a paper, packaging and forest products company listed on the New Zealand and the Australian Stock Exchanges. From 1996 to 2003, he served as the Executive Vice President of International Paper Company. Mr. Oskin graduated from the Widener University in the United States with a Bachelor of Arts. He also currently chairs the Board of Trustees of Widener University.

Tan Li Pin, Richard is an Independent Non-Executive Director of our Company. Mr. Tan is the founder and has been the Chief Executive Officer of various companies under the Pacific Millennium group since 1990. Mr. Tan also participates actively in public services. He graduated from the University of Southern California in the United States with a Master of Business Administration degree.

How green is your airline industry?

I'm not quite getting it. Richard Branson is a great environmentalist for buying A380s? Is this "green" marketing spin? Encouraging people to consumer more and generate more green-house gases/environmental damage but less per unit of consumption? And feel good about it?

"A 380s is the most eco-friendly airliner in the skies" Can any airliner be eco-friendly? Given that on any of the calculators that work out your impact on the environment, air travel is right at the top. According to Airbus passenger traffic is expected to increase by 4.8% by 2025 - the next 18 yrs The A380 is lighter as more of it is made of carbon fibre and carries more people. "The A380 consumes 2.9 litres of fuel per 100km which is equal to that of a small car. (But most people don't drive a small car to London.) Today's fleet on average 5.5 litres per 100km.

Does airline fuel generate more greenhouse gas per litre than car fuel? Does it make a difference that that it is released so far up in the atmosphere?

pessemistic

When I was in my late teens I read The Greening of America, later I read Catherine Caufield's In the Rainforest, both siren calls to protect our environment but the trends has been in the opposite direction. Reading today's paper the reticulated giraffe has been reduced from 27,000 in the 1990s to 3000 today. Even the big inconographic animals of Africa are disappearing There has been inevitable and rapid growth in consumption and in population.

I was surprised to discover that major contributor to global warming is land clearance, the quarter of remaining forests are being reduced further. This is a larger contributor or close to equal that of the use of fossil fuels there seems to be so much of a fuss about.

Even in first world Australia, and looking at just one of the states, 6000 sq km of bushland are cleared in Queensland every year. But Australia's land clearance is a pittance as a contributor to global warming.

When I started looking at these figures I was shocked that the graph of all indicators of world environmental health were so sharply down since I was a teen and there had been such eloquent defences written.

green confusion

I'm getting a lot of detail about the politics of greenhouse warming but not much actual detail. Everybody disagrees. Which is hardly surprising. What have managed to distill is that the biggest contributor is deforestation and secondly fossil fuels. Which fossil fuels and how they are being used. Guessing: coal and power plants.

I'm looking for something that will get all the big solid facts in one place.

Scotch cadets

I see in this morning's paper that there were three inicidents, including one in which a boy died of an allergic reaction to peanut butter, at a Scotch College cadet camp in the Wombat State Forest. If the current cadet corp is like my experience of 25 years or so ago, it's not surprising. Then, in a general well run school, the cadets had a crappy administrative culture. The culture of the army didn't fit schoolboys well. The scouts was a far superior organisation, which I discovered when I switched to it. And Scotch at Cowes was a good holiday. But my experience of the cadet camp at Tolmie (at the foot of Mt Buller) was of boys nearing hypothermia in leaking second world war ponchos while teachers, drank, played cards and played at being officers.

ridiculous fast tracking JP for beatification

The catholic church makes a joke of itself with fast tracking John Paul II sainthood with a posthumous miracle. A nun (convincing?) prayed to him after his death and was cured! Pleeese. Makes the whole church seem shonky and political. Should the alarms bells have been rung (they probably were) when the usual five year waiting period was waived. Why was it waived? Well that's obvious. But what excuse was used? Soon every pope will become a saint automatically. Well it was good enough for him Benedict will instruct.