KUALA LUMPUR: With the labour shortage in oil palm plantations almost completely resolved, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof hopes international organisations will assist in ensuring Malaysia is not listed as a high-risk country in the global palm oil industry.
“We have solved almost 80% of the labour shortage in oil palm plantations.
“However, as Sarawak plantations are not accepting Bangladeshi workers, we have a challenge getting more Indonesian workers.
“In terms of application approvals to solve the labour shortage in oil palm plantations, almost 100% has been achieved,” he said.
However, Malaysia has no control over the recruitment in their source countries.
Fadillah was speaking to reporters after launching the People Positive Palm Project (P3 Project) in collaboration with the Consumer Goods Forum, Human Rights Coalition, Fair Labour Association and the International Organisation on Migration here yesterday.
Last January, he had said there was a shortage of 63,000 foreign workers in the sector and that Malaysia would lose an estimated RM20bil in potential revenue in 2022 because of this.
Fadillah also said yesterday that those championing international human rights in oil palm plantations here should not put Malaysia on the list of high-risk countries.
He said oil palm smallholders usually involve all their family members in the process and regard it as an educational process for the children, not child labour.
“We should not judge everyone using only one standard – standards can vary from country to country due to background, culture and how people are educated.
“For example, a conservative or traditional way of doing things – such as family members working in oil palm planted areas – is an educational process.
“At the same time, we must realise that we should recognise international standards so our industry players can fulfil the expectations of the global market as we are exporting our goods and services.
“We have to comply with the expectations of our buyers. These are the things we have to balance – thus, collaboration is important, such as in this programme,” said Fadillah.
He added that the recruitment fee being regarded as “debt bondage” – which lowered the Malaysian palm oil industry’s ranking on human rights compliance – would be addressed by the Human Resources Ministry and Home Ministry.
“We have introduced the Malay-sian Status for Palm Oil (MSPO) standards, which are better than the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards.
“All the elements such as forced labour, environment and as such are addressed in that.
“Under MSPO, financial aid is provided to smallholders so they can comply with the standards.
“My Indonesian counterpart, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and I will meet with our European counterparts to explain the standards we have developed in Malaysia, our practices and the extent of our compliance.
“Malaysia must not be ranked as a high-risk country. Whatever initiatives we have taken, such as MSPO and for smallholders, must be taken into account.
“Also, rules and regulations must be applied worldwide. It must not only be for us – so there is the question of why rapeseed was not included in the European Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) list,” said Fadillah.
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