KUCHING: The Sarawak government is in discussions with the federal Ministry of Human Resources on how the state can obtain supply of workers from an alternative source, Bangladesh, to sustain the oil palm industry.
State Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said Sarawak had to continue relying on foreign workers but recruitment from its traditional source, Indonesia, was getting more difficult due to the industry’s robust development in the republic.
“The plantation sector is still faced with tight labour supply and because of competition from higher-paying sectors, the locals tend to shun plantation jobs,” he said in his winding-up speech for his ministry at the state assembly sitting, here, today.
Masing said the state government was seriously addressing the problem but there were still legal and technical issues that needed to be resolved before these workers could be recruited under the government to government (G to G) arrangement.
“Even though trial recruitment has started in the peninsula, the state government wants to be certain that the recruitment process is smooth and free from any hindrances before it formally adopts the G to G arrangement and eventually allows the entry of these workers.”
On steps being taken by Felda Global Ventures Plantations (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Felda) to attract more local workers, Masing said, currently 70 per cent of its workers in the state were foreigners.
Felda was going all out to attract more locals to work in the estates by enhancing the potential for locals to increase their income based on family (husband and wife) with a monthly income of RM1,000 per person, he said.
Masing said Felda, which owns and manages 7,680 hectares of oil palm in five project areas at Sempadi, Lundu, had set a yield target of 21.04 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) per hectare for this year from 20.77 tonnes per hectare the previous year.
On the importance of the industry, he said, an estimated RM17.5 billion was injected into the state’s economy for the development of 1.19 million hectares of oil palm, with a further RM4.42 billion being invested in the 63 palm oil mills and six refineries currently in operation.
He said that up to June 30 this year, the industry in Sarawak had generated export revenue totalling RM40.1 billion since 2007 and collected RM2.6 billion from palm oil sales tax since 2002. -Bernama