All tapped out in rubber estates

Compiled by MAHADHIR MONIHULDIN, TAN SIN CHOW AND R.ARAVINTHAN

THE current heatwave has affected rubber tappers as the latex dries too quickly, and this has seen their income drop, reported Mingguan Malaysia.

Sales of frozen latex have plummeted by 50% and rubber tappers such as Azizah Shafien, 57, are feeling the heat.

“The hot season has caused the rubber tree leaves to fall and the latex to dry up, but I have to keep working as it is the main source of income for my family.

“Usually, I would collect about 200kg of latex that will last us two weeks, but the current dry spell has reduced the latex by half.

“I earn about RM270 from selling the latex and share the earnings with my landowner as commission,” she said when met at her house in Kampung Serongga, Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

Azizah said she starts her day early in the morning with her husband Mohd Noh Derahman, 58, as they need to tap over 700 rubber trees.

“It is quite disappointing that the latex has dried up due to the hot weather.

“We have not got a decent income to celebrate Hari Raya in a joyful mood,” she added.

Another rubber tapper, Maizatul Akna Mohd Noh, 37, said she has not had any income since the beginning of Ramadan.

She said the weather has been unpredictable and she could only go out to tap rubber a few times this year.

> Director Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim told Berita Harian that he celebrated the third day of Hari Raya in Manchester, England, with his brother Edry Abdul Halim, who currently lives there.

Yusry, his actress wife Lisa Surihani and their children took a break from work for a family outing in Manchester.

“We will be staying there for 10 days to celebrate the occasion with my brother and his family,” he said.

Yusry added that the first two days of Hari Raya were spent in Kuala Lumpur with his parents and siblings.

“Edry was supposed to return home this year but I told him that we will pay him a visit first.

“After that, we will fly back to Kuala Lumpur together,” he added.

Lisa said they had made prior plans for Hari Raya this year as they wanted to focus on their pilgrimage to Mecca.

“Yusry and I performed our umrah on the first and second week of Ramadan, so we had to plan our Hari Raya celebrations in advance,” she said.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.