MTC Photography Competition Captures

Lush Beauty of Malaysian Forests

Seventy-eight year old Yuen Kok Leng took home a brand new 64GB iPad 2, as well as a cash prize of RM5,000 for successfully capturing the natural beauty and ethereal qualities of a highland forest, during the recent prize presentation ceremony of Malaysian Timber Council's (MTC) Photography Competition.

"I have always enjoyed photography, and even after my retirement I still love taking photos. I took this photo in Cameron Highlands a couple of months back and when I heard about this competition from my friend, I knew I had to send this photo in," said the former in-house photographer for University Malaya, who promised his friend a nice treat after his win.

Prizes worth over RM80,000 in total were awarded during the prize presentation ceremony, by the guest of honour, the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

The MTC Photography Competition received over 800 entries from shutterbugs and nature lovers across Malaysia, with contestants demonstrating their creativity in four categories - forest landscape, flora and fauna, wood products and uses, and a special category on composition and forms.

In addition to Yuen, who clinched the top spot for the 'Forest Landscape' category, three others were awarded first place, namely Gooi Kok Kuang for 'Flora and Fauna', Mohamad Nazri bin Sulaiman for 'Wood Products and Uses', and Suhaimi Mat Isa for 'Composition and Forms'.

Former animator and current business owner, Suhaimi Mat Isa, 41 years, explained that his winning photo was a composition of several different photographs that were digitally altered and manipulated to produce the final work of art.

"Photography is a hobby that I really enjoy, and I am never without a camera in my hands. Because I have some background knowledge in animation, I submitted my entry for the 'Composition and Forms' category, as it is something that I am familiar with," said the father of three, who hails from Kedah.

Organised by MTC in celebration of the International Year of the Forest 2011, the Photography Competition aimed to create awareness of and appreciation for Malaysia's rich and diverse flora and fauna, and provide an avenue for local photographers to express their talents.

"We organised this competition because we wanted to provide a platform for budding and professional photographers to capture the beauty and diversity of our local tropical forests through their lenses. Malaysia is very fortunate in that we still have more than 56% of our land area under natural forest cover, which Malaysia continues to conserve and manage through  prudent sustainable forestry management system. We are very happy to see such a tremendous response from the public, clearly showing that Malaysians have great interest and love for nature," said MTC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Cheah Kam Huan.

"The contestants captured the richness and beauty of our local forests brilliantly, and gave us an opportunity to view Malaysian forests through the lens of Malaysians. We were impressed with the creativity and talent reflected in the photographs submitted, and selecting the winners was no easy task!" commented Chief Judge, Mohamad Izham bin Che Ros, Trainer at the Nikonian Academy.

Second and third place winners from each of the four categories took home a Nikon DSLR camera and Canon ultra compact digital camera respectively. In addition, they also took home cash prizes of RM3,000 and RM2,000 each, for 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively. Ten consolation prize winners were awarded with copies of MTC's popular publication on timber applications, "Timeless Living" (worth RM170 at retail), along with RM300 cash each.

Fifty-two of the best photographs were on display at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), in conjunction with the Malaysian International Commodities and Conference Showcase (MICCOS), a biennial event that brings together major industry players and entrepreneurs in the commodity sector.