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Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Job of last resort puts further strain on Malaysia's palm sector
Skilled harvesters use hand-held sickles attached to long poles to cut down fruit from trees that can weigh as much as 25kg. KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia's palm oil industry is grappling with a dwindling labour pool as workers increasingly shun physically demanding jobs at plantations, a trend that threatens to exacerbate production woes in the major grower. The sector has become the 'last choice' for foreign labourers – the backbone of the industry – and locals, who view the work as dirty, dangerous and difficult, said Roslin Azmy Hassan, the head of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, an industry group. 'Many are choosing jobs in urban areas,' he added. 'It's a Herculean task faced by all the plantation companies,' Roslin said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur, referring to difficulties attracting labour. 'We have been pushing hard for mechanisation, but the key work is harvesting. 'There's no machine that's able to achieve the productivity of a human being,' he added. Labour issues, along with low productivity from old trees and crop disease, are crimping output growth in the world's second-biggest grower. Roslin estimates that these factors are leading to revenue losses of as much as RM11 billion (US$2.6 billion) each year for the Malaysian palm oil industry. Palm is the world's most widely used vegetable oil and can be found in products from chocolate to cosmetics and biofuel, but the broader sector continues to be plagued by production issues. Top grower Indonesia has even turned to tiny bugs from Africa in an effort to boost output. Roslin said replanting costs have surged in recent years, discouraging smaller Malaysian operators from replenishing their palm plantations, while a fungus that causes stem rot has doubled its spread since 2017 to around 14% of the nation's planted area. He expects output will climb to 19.7 million tonnes this year, slightly higher than 2024, but still below pre-pandemic levels. Malaysia's plantations suffered their worst-ever labour shortage during the pandemic as border curbs halted the flow of people from countries including Indonesia and Bangladesh, crimping production. Since then, the sector has struggled to boost its foreign workforce to pre-Covid levels. The industry is trialling the use of robots to mechanise some parts of estate operations, but collecting palm bunches is still very much a manual job. Skilled harvesters use hand-held sickles attached to long poles to cut down fruit from trees that can weigh as much as 25kg. 'I don't know how long it's going to last, but things are getting more and more difficult,' said Roslin, referring to labour issues. 'It's a big struggle not only to entice workers, but also to keep them,' he added.
Free Malaysia Today
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Minister moots ecological corridors to address human-elephant conflict
Natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said a long-term solution will require cooperation between the federal and state governments as the forests, which are the primary habitats of elephants, fall under state jurisdiction. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : Connecting wildlife habitats, especially those of elephants, through ecological corridors is among the long-term measures that can be implemented to deal with human-wildlife conflict, says natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. He also said that elephant corridors could be established near habitats, including in plantation areas, on private land, and in forested areas. Nik Nazmi said oil palm plantation companies would need to work together to create a network of mini corridors within their respective plantations. 'Planting natural food sources for elephants in corridor areas (also needs to be implemented) to reduce dependence on commercial crops,' he said in a statement today. Nik Nazmi also proposed the formation of an elephant sanctuary covering at least 10,000 hectares, in addition to the installation of street lights at main elephant crossing locations. However, he emphasised that a long-term solution would require close cooperation between the federal and state governments, as the forests which are the primary habitats of elephants fall under state jurisdiction. Nik Nazmi said the federal government was providing additional financial incentives to state governments to protect and conserve protected areas under the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) programme for biodiversity conservation. To date, RM800 million has been provided under the EFT, including RM250 million this year, with the gazettement of 90,000 hectares of terrestrial protected areas. 'Of this amount, there was an increase in the area of permanent forest reserves by more than 14,000 hectares. However, addressing this issue requires more than just financial and technical intervention,' Nik Nazmi said. He said the government would continue to lead efforts through comprehensive policies and implementation, but that its success would depend on the joint commitment of plantation owners, project implementers, local communities, and road users. Regarding the death of a calf elephant due to an accident with a 10-tonne lorry on the East-West Highway on Sunday, Nik Nazmi said it was not just a tragic accident, but reflected a major challenge in the relationship between humans and nature, especially in efforts to maintain the survival of wildlife. He said a study in 2016 found that elephant habitats had decreased by 68% due to land use changes for agriculture, plantations, as well as infrastructure development such as roads and settlements. Based on records from the department of wildlife and national parks, 4,919 complaints of human-elephant conflict were reported from 2020 to 2024, involving property losses estimated at RM39.4 million. Over the past five years, Nik Nazmi said a total of eight elephants were recorded as dying due to road accidents in Peninsular Malaysia, with three of these cases occurring this year.
