KUALA LUMPUR: A palm oil producer and exporter has denied allegations that there are fires on its estates in Indonesia.
SD Guthrie Bhd (Guthrie) has dismissed claims linking its subsidiaries or employees to forest and land fires in Indonesia, saying it found no supporting evidence.
In a statement on Tuesday (Oct 20), the company (formerly Sime Darby Plantation Bhd) said it takes fire incidents seriously due to their impact on communities.
"The allegations against Guthrie are not supported by credible evidence and do not reflect the facts established through the group’s latest ground checks, which confirm no active fires in any of its estates in Indonesia.
"We found no evidence that our subsidiaries or employees started the fires.
"Some companies mentioned in public reports as affiliates of Guthrie are not owned, managed or controlled by the group.
"Any outdated or incorrect attribution to Guthrie should be corrected, as it is misleading," it said.
It added that Guthrie has maintained a strict zero-burning policy across all its operations since 1985 and upholds a no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation commitment.
"The group’s fire prevention measures include real-time monitoring of water levels and water-table monitoring in peatland areas.
"There are measures to maintain appropriate moisture levels, community fire prevention programmes, and training for smallholders and local farmers on responsible land management as well.
"When a fire is detected within or near our operational boundaries, our operations will respond immediately, regardless of its source," it said.
Guthrie said its Indonesian subsidiary, Minamas Plantation, has 67 firefighting teams comprising 1,005 trained personnel.
"Their work is supported by drone and infrared monitoring across plantation concession areas and approximately 322,000ha of surrounding community land.
"We spend an estimated 3.5 billion rupiahs (about RM800,000) each month to maintain and deploy these resources.
"Guthrie, through its Indonesian subsidiaries, works with the authorities to tackle forest and land fires beyond our concession areas.
"Between January and September, these teams responded to and extinguished 2,411 fires.
"Of these, 2,376 were on community land," it said.
It also pointed out that responding to fires beyond Guthrie’s concession area should not be taken as evidence that they were caused by the group.
"Fires within Guthrie’s concession area are detected early and action is taken immediately to extinguish them," it said.
It said the company will continue to work with Indonesian authorities and stakeholders.
"We call for any inaccurate data or ownership attribution to be corrected and for allegations to be supported by credible evidence.
"Guthrie remains open to constructive engagement with relevant stakeholders towards the shared objective of preventing fires and protecting communities and the environment," it said.
