30-day lockdown in plantations
KOTA KINABALU: The State government and the oil palm plantation industry have reached an agreement and will roll out a joint approach in mitigating the spread of Covid-19 by implementing a voluntary 30-day lockdown in the plantation sector to facilitate the mass Covid-19 screening of oil palm plantation workers in Sabah, with the aim of containing the spread of the virus.
However, daily plantation operations will continue amid strict compliance with the Covid19 SOP. It was also highlighted that, upon detecting positive cases, plantations must immediately cease operations to mitigate disease spread. Reopening may be allowed depending on the Health Ministry’s risk assessments.
This was disclosed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) and the Malaysian Estate Owners Association (MEOA) in a joint statement on Tuesday in reference to the statement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on Monday pertaining to the Covid-19 situation in the plantation sector in Sabah.
Malaysia’s largest palm oil producing state Sabah will not impose a shutdown of plantation operations, the statement said.
“The Sabah State government was wisely able to comprehend that any shutdowns or drastic changes in policies can adversely affect the Sabah palm oil industry, impacting the State’s economy.
“The oil palm planted area in Sabah covers over 1.544 million hectares, involving thousands of planters and tens of thousands of smallholders. The palm oil sector’s mid-stream involves 132 palm oil mills and 12 palm kernel plants, and its downstream 11 refineries – all of which have a considerable multiplier effect on the State’s economy,” it pointed out.
MPOA and MEOA added that if a complete shut-down of the oil palm plantation sector were to be rolled out, Sabah and its people will face significant losses which will have negative social economic consequences.
Crude palm oil (CPO) prices are now hovering favourably at around RM3,500 per tonne and planters will lose the opportunity to recoup their investments from earlier years of depressed prices.
The State itself will also lose out on sales tax collection for its treasury, they said and pointing out that Sabah can potentially produce about 5,000,000 tonnes CPO per year.
“With the prevailing Sabah Sales Tax of 7.5 per cent set against the CPO average price at RM3,500 per tonne for year 2021, the total sales tax collectable for the State coffers can amount to over RM1.3 billion.
“The State can do a great deal for its people, including mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in light of the recent hike in positive cases. Correspondingly, planters will forego about RM1.7 billion in CPO and palm kernel revenue in a single month in the event of a complete shutdown; this excludes other spinoffs throughout the supply chain,” MPOA and MEOA stressed.
Both MPOA and MEOA said they welcome the State of Sabah’s recent engagement with the plantation sector for an effective stakeholders’ consultation in addressing the Covid-19 situation.
The State has always reiterated that there should be a balance between combating the Covid19 infection and economic sustainability, and that any responses should ideally be jointly discussed with relevant stakeholders in accordance to sector-specificness.
Both associations value greatly the State’s ability to appreciate the macro-perspective of the Covid19 situation and the dire need for a common but differentiated and best-fit approach to manage the spread of Covid-19 in the oil palm plantation sector.
“The series of engagement last week allowed the industry to put forward our views and recommendations, and this resulted in the State and industry reaching joint consensus on the most pragmatic approach to contain the spread of Covid19 in the plantation sector and continue monitoring the situation together,” it said.
“The State of Sabah has continued to take cognisance of the uniqueness of the oil palm plantation sector in Sabah, the vast oil palm planted area spread over a landbank twice the size of Selangor State, the isolated sites of plantations and their rural nature, the sector’s intertwined supply chain, and particularly its rural social-economic aspects,” it pointed out.
Normal daily operations in the oil palm plantation are confined to permanent locations in large uncluttered landscapes, where movement control of both plantation workers and outsiders is enforced, the associations stressed.
By virtue of the nature of work activities in the plantation, the workers are by default welldistanced from each other. Thus, it is safe for the workers to be out in the fields working.
Shutdown, however, will encourage the workers staying at their quarters to mingle and group together, which potentially puts themselves and all others in the plantation community at higher risk, they opined.
The plantation sector’s wayof-operation differentiates the sector from other business manufacturing sectors that are mostly within confined factories or buildings, and often located in urban areas.
“Stakeholders should be cautious about not ending up resorting to a blanket approach of ‘using a sledgehammer to kill a fly’, but instead be appreciative of the modus operandi specific to the sector,” it said.
The statement also disclosed that in the consensus reached, the State’s directive for the lockdown in the plantation sector will involve a set of self-imposed restrictions by the planters to prevent Covid-19 transmission from external and internal sources, while continuing their daily operations within their respective lockdown boundaries.
The lockdown restrictions include among others the following strict measures to be adhered to restricted access into the estates, strict SOPs in movements of food, supply and services including fertilisers and other agrochemicals, spare parts and machineries into the operations.
It also included restricted movement of workers and all other employees out of the estates (unless patients or others with prior approval from top management e.g. emergencies).
Returning to estates can only be permitted following fresh swab testing with negative results, incorporating strict social distancing in estate operations, use of face masks in estate operations, no social gatherings or other group activities within the estates, additional measures to promote cleanliness and personal hygiene, symptomatic cases, if any, suspected in estates will be immediately sent to hospitals, the associations said.
Both associations call upon its membership (Note: Combined membership landbank of MPOA and MEOA represents 43 per cent of the total Sabah oil palm planted area) and all other planters in Sabah to adhere to the above measures and accelerate their swab screening to cover all their workers and the larger community in their respective operations.
Planters are urged to work closely with the personnel from the Health Ministry and all other private swab testing service providers approved by Socso to carry out the swab testing, fully cooperate in the risk assessments, demonstrating their SOPs in place and provision of isolation and quarantine facilities, if needed.
“In return, the State authority will reciprocate by enhancing policing and have check-points throughout the State where plantations are located to monitor movement controls.
“The associations also appeal that more personnel from the government resources can be extended especially to smallholders located in the remote areas of Sabah in order that the swab screening can be accelerated and be completed soonest. There are presently 93 Socso approved swab testing service providers in Sabah and the associations were assured that the number of testing providers will be increased.
For the record, during the first wave of the MCO in March 2020, both MPOA and MEOA urged their members to implement voluntary lockdowns, and adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
MEOA has also rolled out and shared with the plantation fraternity its SOPs for prevention and mitigation of transmission of Covid-19 for estates, palm oil mills and kernel crushing plants.
As can be seen, sustaining the lockdown and adhering to the SOPs are still the most effective response to starve Covid-19 in the oil palm supply chain, it said, adding that without exception, no stakeholder can afford to have lapses in their SOPs.
MPOA and MEOA said they will continue to offer their constructive participation with the authorities to starve the Covid-19 virus of its victims, by keeping all workers fully employed and secure under the State-assisted voluntary lockdowns during this period while the swab screening is being carried out.
“The Sabah State government and the relevant stakeholders should continue to be engaged in working together towards accelerating an end to our common adversary, while we continue to support the hardworking and diligent measures taken by the State to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in Sabah,” they said.