KUCHING: Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) has strongly disputed a statement by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) accusing the local palm oil industry of land grabbing and offering low wages.
It said isolated cases of disputes over land did not reflect the palm oil industry here as a whole because the majority of the plantations were operating soundly without any dispute with the indigenous people.
Contrary to the NGO’s claim, Soppoa said the palm oil industry paid competitive wages to various professionals involved in many levels of management of the estates, mills and refineries as well as related fields such as logistics, accounting, human resource and sales.
Soppoa also denied an accusation by the NGO that the local palm oil industry employed foreign workers without even considering the numerous positive returns the industry would bring to the state and nation.
Soppoa said the NGO conveniently omitted mentioning the huge capital outlays (loans from banks) for the plantations such as land clearing, planting, transportation, mills and refinery construction.
In a statement issued to rebut the NGO’s accusation and condemnation, Soppoa said the plam oil industry is both labour and capital intensive.
“The majority of the labourers are foreigners because even with competitive pay locals shun working in the industry mainly due to the hard and less than glamorous work,” it lamented.
Soppoa said the industry contributed substantial revenue to the state through sales tax (regardless of the price for palm oil sold, the state gets 5% tax) and also corporate tax (24%) to the national coffer.
In fact, the palm oil industry is one of the leading revenue earners for the state and nation through employments of professionals, job creation and sales of the commodity, it added.
In view of this, Soppoa said for NGO to paint such negative aspects of the industry without inferring to the many positive attributes the palm oil industry brings to the state and nation is both petty and ignorant of facts.
“It also shows the NGO refuse to acknowledge that the huge capital outlay is secured loans which have to be serviced and further contributes to the nation’s incomes.
“It is a pity that there are still critics who refuses to understand the other side of the palm oil industry here and its reach internationally; by intentionally taking the negative side criticising the palm oil industry is akin to treachery of the nation and its people,” said the association.
According to Soppoa, the palm oil industry is currently facing numerous challenges including European discriminatory policies (for exclusion from their bio-fuel subsidies), low prices, and activists opposing sustainable cultivation.
Thus, as it is, the industry does not need Malaysians to further denigrate the industry which supports more than 650,000 smallholders besides from the millions of jobs related to the industry.
With the industry now targeting to achieve certification based on the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) this year, Soppoa said the direction of the industry was well-charted to enable it to be accountable and also sustainable for the foreseeable future.
The state claimed that the palm oil industry is all about improving living conditions for everyone involved, either directly or indirectly. Palm oil is the most abundant, cheapest and safest edible oil for both consumption and production of food, food products and by-products.
Earlier, Soppoa, congratulated all those involved in securing the release of the 47 Malaysians detainees in Cambodia.
It is heartening to note that all were safely returned to their families and this episode should serve as a warning to all on the dangers of working overseas without proper checks and questionable middlemen involved.
