TEAK WOOD OF SABAH

Teak Plantation Virgin Jungle Reserve

Teak Trees of Sabah

The smallest Forest Reserve in Sabah is Teak Plantation Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR). Area about 3 ha.

The price of Teak Wood in Malaysia is US$1,100 per cubic meters.

Located in the Kota Marudu district 5 km from Kota Marudu. Reachable by sealed road leading to Kg. Marudu Darat, off the Kota Marudu-Kudat main road.

The Teak Information Centre is located at the edge of the Teak Plantation Virgin Jungle Reserve. The building houses an office, a meeting room and a display area. There are 7 huts around the centre. The centre is opened only during office hours.

Teak Plantation VJR was gazetted as a Class VI FR in 14/3/1984. It was not a reserve before 1984.

The forest management responsibility is under Mukim Batutai, Kota Marudu District Forestry Office.

The Teak Information Centre was completed in late 1998 under the 7th Malaysia Plan. It was officially opened in mid-May 2002. Main purpose is to provide scientific information on teak to the tree plantation industry.

This Information Centre is a source of teak (Tectona grandis) seeds for forest plantations. The information centre will be used as a public awareness centre for the importance and uses of teak.

The VJR is surrounded by villages, oil palm estates and coconut plantations. There are about 10 households living nearby. Villagers grow teak seedlings in their small-scale nurseries. The District Forestry Office allow the villagers to collect seeds from the VJR for a small fee.

Physical environment
Topography—The VJR is flat.

Hydrology—Being so small, there is only a stream in the VJR.

Soils—Mainly Tuaran Association, with Weston and Brantian in the north and south respectively.
For soil map, click here.

Meteorological data—The nearest meteorological stations are at Langkon (close to the FR), Kudat (north) and Wario (southwest).

The VJR was part of a larger area that was planted with teak (reportedly originating from Indonesia) in 1926 by the Dutch Tobacco Company to shade their tobacco plants and for use as poles. This makes the teak trees there the oldest in Sabah.

Fauna
Being only 3 ha in size and surrounded by cultivated land, the VJR cannot sustain populations of larger mammals. During the survey, only small squirrels were observed.

Research
There is no known research conducted in the VJR except for the occasional mensuration of the trees. The teak Beehole Borer (Xyleutes ceramicus) was reported to occur in the VJR.

Threats & constraints
Encroachment—There is a small pathway across the VJR that is normally used by villagers. However, this is only a minor problem since the path is only about 20 m across the width of the VJR.

Special attributes
This teak trees in the VJR are the oldest in Sabah.

Photos above : Before harvest and After harvest of Teak wood in Kalabakan district.

NATURAL teak wood's incredible beauty and unique properties have earned it the royal title 'King of Woods'.

The pricey teak, however, is not native to Sabah.

China, Burma (now Myanmar), Thailand, Laos and India are naturally blessed with these trees but they have drastically depleted their stocks in the wild.

Thailand reportedly once had 30 million acres of natural teak forests but that have dwindled to just few thousand acres.

So can Sabah get into the teak supply act, given that one cubic meter of natural teak is reportedly worth US$10,000 (RM34.000)?

Can teak thrive in Sabah in the first place?

More decisive still, do local growers want to plant teak?

The answer to the latter is actually no - except the odd man out - Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh.

Malaysian Government went all out to promote teak planting in 1990 but it drew an icy response, with most people preferring the safety of known crops instead.

Harris, however, saw a silver lining in the sky around teak.

In 1993, he committed 2,000 acres of land to teak tree in Lahad Datu and a year later, 400 acres in Balung.

As a result, 120,000 stands of teak trees aged 12-14 years now look like a forest in Boonrich, Lahad Datu and 40,000 trees aged 12 years in Balung, totaling 160,000 trees.

The calculative Harris had more than just teak up in his sleeves.

With a dislike for mono-cropping, he had long ago figured out that in due time, he would be planting shade-loving Gaharu - rated the most expensive wood in the world, under his maturing teak.

So, what you see now is 500 acres of Gaharu trees growing comfortably under his towering teak, and this potent combination of two high value crops is expanding!

Through artificial inoculation, a good planted Gaharu may produce 3kgs of very expensive resin embedded heartwood in only seven years — impressively fast.

That's killing two birds with one stone.

Small wonder Harris is bouncing with cheers with what he considers the fruit of his vision, or insight.

"I have no regrets because I am convinced that teak indeed is the "king of woods' in the world,....It's all about doing quality things and being value innovative"
Harris told Daily Express

Harris had always been awe-struck by teak's beautiful combination of gold, dark brown, red patterns.

Yet it is resistant to color change when exposed to moisture and the drying effects of weather. Also, because of its natural oils, teak is virtually weather-proof, resistant to moisture and very durable.

Since it does not absorb moisture, it is perfect for making out- door furniture without varnish and paint.

If Belian is rot-proof, teak is also rot-resistant be it in ground or water because it possesses a resin called technoquinine that naturally repels termites.

High in silica content, teak has excellent traction for decks even in wet condition. It polishes to a beautiful shine loved by master sculptors and craftsmen.

So, teak's slew of cherished unique properties attract top end buyers.

Apparently, even without waiting 80 years, teak can still be a very profitable crop if conditions are conducive to proper growth, commanding prices at US$10 per linear foot in contrast to less than US$1 for many other types of softwood like pine.

Results from leading new areas for teaks including Latin America indicate that if trees are planted in 10ft quadrants and maintained properly, a hectare of teak trees at current market price will yield a gross income of about US$475,000 in 20 years.

Massive teak in Bandau convinced Harris Sabah can do this superior crop

Can teak be productive in Sabah ?

The geographic factor sets the altitude specification to within the narrow band around the equator most conducive to grow teak.

It is said that the three to four months of distinct dry seasons in Burma is responsible for the unique teak properties sought by the world. Distinct dry spells are not that prominent in Sabah's monsoon driven climate.

However, teaks also like moderate temperature, generous rain- falls and fertile soil and our east coast hinterlands like Lahad Datu and Balung certainly provide these essential elements. But it was actually the stunning sight of seeing a massive teak tree in Sabah which convinced Harris to conclude: 'That's it, we can plant teak!"

"When I saw a really big teak tree in, Bandau, Kota Marudu, left behind by British Tobacco, it put the issue beyond doubt that we can do teak In Sabab," he said.

"Besar (huge)/' Harris remembered. "It could be 80 years old."

That huge teak Harris bumped into was a legacy of British Tobacco which for some reasons, used two-year-old teak rods for hanging tobacco for sun drying, Harris pointed out.

"We started teak because, number one, I saw that one teak was growing very well in Sabah. Number two, there was shortage of teak in the world at that time."

"That's how we got involved in teak and we don't regret it," he said. "I was convinced teak was the king of woods."

"Price wise, it is many, many times higher than any other wood."

"Compared to incomes from rubber and oil palm and rubber over 20-30 years, the cumulative income of teak is still twice or three times more," Harris asserted.

"Also, little or no maintenance is needed after three years and so labor is very minimal for teak."