Sarawak Needs Over 800,000 Workers For Oil Palm Plantations

KUCHING, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Sarawak needs over 800,000 workers in oil palm plantations statewide, said state Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.

He said this figure only involves plantations managed by the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) and does not include other agricultural sectors.

 “Roughly, we have 1.62 million hectares (of oil palm plantation land) in the state. We have a major problem, a shortage of harvesters. Each worker should harvest 1.5 tonnes of crops a day. We lose money and opportunities without enough workers," he told a press conference after returning from a five-day working visit to Indonesia today.

Dr Rundi said that to address the labour shortage, Salcra had visited several locations in Indonesia, such as Jakarta and Lombok, to interview interested workers.

“The (recruitment) process (involving foreign workers) requires a lot of compliance.

“We have to coordinate with the departments of labour and immigration. In Peninsular Malaysia, workers would typically arrive within 45 days but, in our case, it still takes about 90 days or more,” he said.

He said Sarawak would simplify the recruitment process of oil palm plantation workers from Indonesia to support Salcra's plantation operations.

-- BERNAMA