Sabah red flag for planters

The Malaysian Estate Owners Association (MEOA) president Peter Benjamin told StarBiz that “if the lockdown happens again and estates cannot operate, it will have a huge impact on plantation companies, particularly in crop losses.

PETALING JAYA: Plantation companies with large oil palm estates in Sabah are back on high alert mode following the stricter enhanced movement control order (EMCO) lockdown in Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna, say industry players.

The escalating Covid-19 cases in the four affected districts had resulted in non-essential businesses to be shut down for 14 days starting Sept 29. Initially, Kunak authorities had declared that oil palm estates and mills there were not allowed to operate during the shutdown period.