Only 110,000 rubber smallholders make claims

KUALA PILAH: Only 110,000 out of 500,000 smallholders nationwide have claimed the Rubber Production Incentive (IPG) to date, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.

He said this was probably caused by poor rubber tapping activities or plantations inherited by their children were left abandoned.

This situation had caused a huge loss to the country from the economic aspect, in addition to the waste of resources, he said.

“It is such a small amount and I’m wondering where did the 500,000 smallholders go? Do they not make claims?

“Perhaps many have stopped tapping due to the low price of rubber. The plantations are there but they don’t produce anything. This is a loss to the country,” he told reporters after the handing over of contributions to 100 smallholders here, on Sunday.

Therefore, he said the Malaysian Rubber Board has been directed to continue with the legalisation process to find out the exact number of active farmers to be assisted, besides solving smallholder’s inactivity issue despite owning the Rubber Transaction Authorisation Permit (PAT-G).