Labour shortage in plantations 80% resolved, says Fadillah

KUALA LUMPUR: The labour shortage in oil palm plantations is about 80% sorted and approvals have been given to fully resolve the situation, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister, said the remaining challenge was to ensure that there are enough migrant workers from source countries as certain states like Sarawak do not accept Bangladeshis.

Fadillah was speaking to the media after launching the People Positive Palm Project (P3) in collaboration with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Human Rights Coalition (HRC), Fair Labour Association (FLA) and International Organisation on Migration (IOM) at a hotel here on Tuesday (March 14).

"As Sarawak plantations are not accepting Bangladeshi workers, we have a challenge to get more Indonesian workers for the state.

"In terms of application approvals to solve the labour shortage in oil palm plantations, almost 100% has been given.

"(Some factors, however, are) beyond our control and depend on source countries," he added.

In January, Fadillah said the shortage of 63,000 foreign workers in the oil palm plantation sector severely affected yield and saw Malaysia lose out on an estimated RM20bil in revenue last year.

The Cabinet agreed to facilitate the intake of foreign workers and extend the labour recalibration programme until the end of the year.