Suspending plantation operations won’t ease Covid-19 outbreak – Tawau chamber
TAWAU: The Chinese Chamber of Commerce Tawau and Tawau oil palm operators request the state government to reconsider halting operations of all oil palm plantations and palm oil mills and refineries in Sabah.
The chamber’s president, Chia Seong Fatt, said in view of the extension of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to April 14, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal had declared that all oil palm plantations and palm oil mills and refineries in the districts of Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kinabatangan should cease operation up until April 14. The same was also ordered for plantations and refineries in Kalabakan, Semporna and Kunak.
“The decision by the Chief Minister would inevitably deal a strong blow to the palm oil industries in the abovementioned area, and we fully concur with the need of strong measure to contain the spread of the Covid19,” he said yesterday.
However, due to the unique environment and operation procedures pertaining to oil palm plantations, it is our view that such a measure would do little to ease the current outbreak of Covid-19, he said.
In particular, Chia said plantation workers are spread out across large plantation area, where each is in charge of a designated plot of land. Hence, prohibiting them from carrying out works would do no further good in limiting contact between them, as they are already working in isolation from each other.
Rather, he said it would lead to unnecessary loss to the plantation owners, as the fruits will be overripe and rot if not timely harvested and processed, eventually leading to a severe impact on the state’s economy.
“Accordingly, we earnestly request the Chief Minister to take into consideration the unique circumstances around the operation of oil palm plantations and refinery plants, and reevaluate the decision to halt their operations. In particular, we would like to bring the following facts for his consideration:
1. The maintenance of oil palm plantations is sparsely managed, where every 20-30 acres is looked after by a single worker. Even if workers are to work “alongside”, they would in fact be few acres away from each other, which far exceeds the recommended social distance of one metre.
2. Like a regular food production plant, oil refinery plant workers are assigned to different work stations which are spaced apart, fully compliant with the recommended social distance.
3. Oil palm plantations are usually few kilometres, or even few tens of kilometres from each other, that each plantation is akin to an independent and isolated community, with no interaction between them. The distance between palm oil mills and refineries are even farther apart, that the spreading of the coronavirus between plantations or refinery plants is unlikely. Thus, in the event that Covid-19 case is reported in a plantation or a refinery plant, a more commensurate measure is to cease operation of said plantation or plant, and isolate the workers. The blanket closure of all plantations and plants, which are kilometres apart, would be a disproportionate and overly drastic move.
4. The authority may command plantations or refinery plants to impose prevention and surveillance measures to counter disease spread. This includes educating workers on safety habits to prevent viral infection, monitoring workers’ body temperature (some plants have already started practicing this prior to the MCO), providing hand sanitizer and urging employees to regularly sanitize/ wash their hands, practicing social distancing, and sending workers to hospitals for checking and isolation immediately upon detection of Covid-19 symptoms such as fever and coughing.
5. The oil palm plantations and palm oil refinery plants in Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kinabatangan have already halted operation for a week now since receipt of the instructions on March 25. By April 7, it will have been two weeks of closure fulfilling the quarantine period of 14 days as recommended by the Health Ministry.
Accordingly, it is our view that extending the closure till April 14 is excessive and we urge the government to consider exempting oil palm plantations and palm oil refinery plants from the extended shutdown.
6. If an extended cease of operation to April 14, is applied, a much larger amount of oil palm fruits will be overripe and rot, inflicting unnecessary loss on the part of the business owners.
7. Most of the labour of oil palm plantations receive a daily wage, that they would receive no income for the days when they stay put. Therefore, if the plantations are to be shut down on extended basis, hundreds and thousands of plantation workers will have no income at all, and how shall they maintain a living? In fact, we would argue that letting them work is the best way to restrict them to staying within the vicinity of the plantation or the worker hostels. If they are left unoccupied with work and sitting idle at home, there is no guarantee how long can they stay put nor is there any measure in place to restrain them from loitering around. Such is a consideration ought to be taken into account.
8. Palm oil is listed as an important and essential food product, that oil palm plantations and refinery plants are allowed to operate even under the federally implemented MCO. Therefore, we urge the Sabah government to align with the federal government in its treatment of the oil palm industry, namely only shutting down plantations and refinery plants which have reported cases of Covid-19, instead of indiscriminately halting operations of all plantations and plants because of the sporadic cases. We fully respect the government’s authority in decision making, and we believe the welfare and safety of all citizens are at the heart of the government’s consideration. To this end, we also earnestly urge the government to conduct meaningful discussion with the professionals or business owners to better understand the unique circumstances faced by different industries, prior to finalizing on a major decision that could hugely impact the lives of many. This should avoid inflicting unnecessary losses on the business owners or even harming the citizens. Even though the Covid-19 situation has yet to show any sign of slowing down, and as much as we respect the government’s resolution to flatten the curve, such does not warrant implementation of measures which have not been thoroughly evaluated for their efficacy and consequences, putting further strains on the lives of many in this already ailing economy.
To summarize the above, below are the key proposals:
1. The state government should familiarize itself with the unique mode of operation in the oil palm industry, and treats individual plantations or refinery plants on a case-by-case basis, namely to shut down only those with reported confirmed or suspected cases, instead of imposing a blanket ban of operation on all.
2. As the closure of plantations and refinery plants reach 14 days on April 7, the state government should rescind the order of closure, allowing oil palm plantations and refinery plants to return to business.
3. All plantations and refinery plants must closely monitor the health status of its employees, and strengthen measures to prevent spread of the Covid19. If the government has sufficient test kits for Covid-19, the employers are agreeable to conducting internal tests on its employees and paying for it.