Plantation industry players urged to adhere strictly to SOPs

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian plantation fraternity involved in the entire palm oil supply chain will continue to offer their sectoral-related and most practical recommendations to the policy makers and the authorities.

“We call on all our members and other stakeholders to work together to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 virus, by keeping all plantations and its entire supply chain safe and secure with very strict adherence to the SOPs,” said Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), the Malaysian Estate Owners’ Association (MEOA), the National Association of Smallholders (NASH), the Malayan Agricultural Producers Association (MAPA), the Palm Oil Millers Association (POMA), the Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM), the Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA) and the Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP) in a joint statement on Thursday.

MPOA, MEOA, NASH, MAPA, POMA, PORAM, SOPPOA and ISP said they advocate that the plantation sector across its supply chain be allowed to continue to operate in compliance with strict SOPs, thereby sustaining its contribution to the national economy.

This, they stressed would be preferable to a total shutdown of an essential pillar of the national economy, with concomitant socio-economic consequences for the industry and hundreds of thousands of smallholders.

“We also call upon all stakeholders to continue in consultative engagements based on Sabah’s recent model, by seeking out and implementing inclusive discussions with the authorities of their respective states, and working towards adopting common but differentiated approaches which embrace sectoral-specificness.

“Let us engage in partnership towards accelerating an end to our common adversary even as we continue to support the dedication of all our hard-working front liners to contain the Covid19 virus,” they said.

The multi-stakeholders in the supply-chain of the Malaysian plantation industry issued the statement in support of the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali recent statement regarding the need for all employers in the Agri-Commodity sector to adhere strictly to the Ministry’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) in order to stem the spread of Covid19 in the workplace.

The plantation industry, they said, applauds the outcome of the sectoral-specific joint response to combat Covid-19 as announced on Jan 25 resulting from an inclusive engagement between the State of Sabah and the industry. The State’s decision is a good model for adoption elsewhere, balancing battling of our common adversary and assuring economic sustainability.

However, in the event the shutdown of the entire economy involving all sectors is inevitable and has to be implemented, and it also includes the plantation sector, the adoption of an authority-regulated and imposed lockdown on the plantation sector will be the best solution with operations being allowed to continue unimpeded amid the strict SOPs in place, they said.

“The Minister’s statement was issued whilst the decision was announced by the State of Sabah on Jan 25 not to shut-down the plantation sector, but instead implement a 30-day lockdown in the plantation sector. In the case of a lockdown, daily plantation operations are permitted to continue amid strict compliance with the Covid-19 SOPs.

“This was to facilitate the mass Covid-19 screening of oil palm plantation workers in Sabah. The decision was reached following consultation by the State with the plantation sector,” they said.

The associations take cognisance of and extend their sincere appreciation to the Minister and the Ministry for their invaluable advice, as well as the SOPs which were updated on 15 January 2021, particularly in respect of guidance on reporting to the nearest Pejabat Kesihatan if more than five per cent of the workforce is absent from work due to fever above 37.5 deg C and/or other symptoms relevant to Covid-19, and ensuring that any workers with temperatures above 37.5 deg C or exhibiting other Covid-19 related symptoms are taken for assessment and treatment to the employer’s panel doctor or to the nearest Klinik Kesihatan.

All stakeholders, they pointed out, have been reiterating that there should be a balance between combating the Covid-19 infection on one hand and economic sustainability on the other.

“We would also like to use this opportunity to record our gratitude to the Federal and State Governments for allowing the Plantation sector to operate throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) by recognising it as an essential sector. This has meant a great deal to the oil palm industry, including the smallholders in Malaysia,” they said.

Right from the onset, the Plantation sector has given their utmost cooperation in adhering to the SOPs established by the Ministry of Health, and the associations have also pursued added SOP measures and initiatives.

“The very low incidence of positive cases in the plantations is evidence of the results of these efforts and strict compliance with the SOPs, and we shall continue to adhere to the SOPs until the pandemic is over,” they added.

According to the sttaement, in the recent engagement between the State of Sabah with the Plantation sector, both representations from MPOA and MEOA were given the opportunity to put forward their views and recommendations.

The State was able to appreciate the macro-perspective of the Covid-19 situation in the Plantation sector and the dire need for a common but differentiated and best-fit approach to tackle the spread of Covid-19. This resulted in the State and industry reaching consensus on the most pragmatic approach to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the Plantation sector. Both State and the industry will continue to monitor the situation together, the statement read.

The recent Sabah State Government and the Plantation sector’s joint efforts in coming up with a win-win solution is a good example on the importance of consultative engagement, they said adding, “We applaud the Sabah State Government for their proactive approach. We believe similar cooperation and more effective engagements can be extended at the Federal level as well as with the authorities in other States.

According to the associations further, there is the dire need to appreciate the distinctiveness of the oil palm Plantation sector and its intertwined supply chain, the vast oil palm planted area, the isolated sites of plantations amid a rural landscape, and rural socialeconomic aspects of the industry.

In many respects, the Plantation sector is fortunate that the nature of operations assures inbuilt social distancing in the workplace, which is in the fields. Unlike the manufacturing sector where workers on production lines work in enclosed factories in close proximity to one another, workers on plantations are spread out in the field carrying out field maintenance work (manuring, spraying, weeding and harvesting).