KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s plantation sector has urged the state government to review the mandatory e-LESTARI foreign worker training programme, warning that its recurring RM300 per-worker fee places a heavy financial burden on the industry without offering clear additional value.
In a joint statement on Saturday (Oct 4), the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) Sabah Branch, the East Malaysia Planters’ Association (EMPA), and the Malaysian Estate Owners’ Association (MEOA) highlighted that tying the training—under the Sistem Latihan Pekerja Asing (SLPA)—to the issuance and renewal of non-resident worker licences creates an unsustainable annual compliance cost.
With 76,726 registered foreign plantation workers in Sabah, the associations estimated the policy will cost the sector roughly RM23mil per cycle, with a single employer of 5,000 foreign workers facing up to RM1.5mil in fees.
The groups question the programme’s added value and seek transparency on how the fees are spent.
To address the issue, the associations proposed recognising established internal training programmes that meet e-LESTARI standards and replacing full training repeats with shorter refresher modules for licence renewals.
They called for direct engagement with the state government to establish a balanced framework that safeguards worker welfare while protecting the competitiveness of Sabah’s plantation industry.
