New boss at Perhutani

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution installed A. Fattah DS on Tuesday as the new president of state-owned forestry company Perum Perhutani.

Fattah, a longtime insider in the ministry, previously served as president of another state timber firm, PT Inhutani I, which manages forests in East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Maluku.

He assumes Perum Perhutani's helm after it was left vacant by Harnanto H. Martosiswojo, appointed the ministry's director general of forest utilization in April.

Fattah said he would focus his efforts on increasing Perhutani's exports in line with the government's policy to earn more foreign exchange through this approach.

Perhutani, founded in 1972, currently manages over 2.5 million hectares of forests in Java, West and East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.

The company, which has teak and pine plantations as its core business, earned 75 percent of its total revenue of Rp 881 billion last year from sales of teak. (gis)