JOHOR BARU: Incentives should be provided to attract more youths to “get dirty” by working at palm oil plantations, says the Felda Malaysia Youth Council.
Its president Mohd Fadzli Hasan suggested that youths be given financial support to buy heavy machinery as using technology could make their jobs faster and more efficient.
He touted the council’s own “Kerja Borong Kecil” (KBK) programme where priority was given to Felda youths to work in Felda plantations throughout the country.He said since KBK started last August, some 4,000 youths had been able to find jobs.
“We were surprised to see a good number of Felda youths wanting to work at plantations under the programme.
“Through KBK, Felda youths can directly apply for jobs involving harvesting, fertilising and spraying pesticides. Once they complete the task, they will be paid RM5,000 per job.
“Youths involved in the KBK programme are able to get three to four jobs a month and get good money for their hard work,” he told The Star.
Fadzli said the council had teamed up with Felda Plantation Management Sdn Bhd to come up with a smart app to woo more youths to the plantations.
He said the initiative was a transformational move to get Felda involved in the gig economy.
“With a push of an icon on their smartphones, youths can land jobs at Felda areas within 30km of where they live. This shows that youths are willing to get dirty and work under the sun,” he said, adding that at Felda Keratong 7, all plantation work was carried out by local youths.
Fadzli said the lack of hands from Indonesia and Bangladesh at palm oil plantations had given a negative image to the plantation sector and the council was doing its part to ease the problem.
