Kota Kinabalu: Escalating tensions in the Middle East between Iran and the United States are beginning to cast a long shadow over Malaysia’s forestry sector, highlighting how distant geopolitical conflicts can disrupt industries far beyond their immediate region.
According to Ts Dr Affendy Hassan, Deputy Dean (Research and Innovation) at the Faculty of Tropical Forestry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), and President of the Malaysian Agroforestry Society, the ripple effects of the Iran-United States conflict are increasingly evident in global economic systems that underpin Malaysia’s resource-based industries.
“In today’s interconnected global economy, geopolitical tensions can trigger cascading impacts — from energy markets to resource-based industries — affecting even countries geographically removed from the conflict.
“Malaysia’s forestry sector remains a key pillar of the national economy, with the timber and timber-based industry generating export revenues exceeding RM20 billion annually.
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