ROMPIN, May 28 — The Ministry of Primary Industries have urged mentri besar and chief ministers to facilitate the ownerships of land which are worked by the Orang Asli by planting oil palm.

Its deputy minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said this was because the ownership of land was the main prerequisite in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification which must be mandatorily complied with by the end of the year.

"The government have stipulated the MSPO certification which involves the participations of all quarters in the palm oil industry including smallholders, plantation owners and factories to ensure the national palm oil is sustainably produced.

"We are facing several challenges to help the Orang Asli smallholders obtain the MSPO certification but the most challenging issue is in the land ownership and hope we can get the co-operation of the mentri besar and chief ministers in solving it,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

Shamsul Iskandar was met after launching the programme ‘Jom MSPO Pekebun Kecil Orang Asli Pahang’ at Dewan Besar DARA, Muadzam Shah here yesterday, which was also attended by the Pahang Orang Asli development Department (JAKOA) director Johari Alwi.

During the ceremony, Shamsul Iskandar also handed over the MSPO certifications to 26 Orang Asli oil palm smallholders from Pahang and a fund of RM10,000 each to the Sustainable Oil Palm Planting Co-operatives of Bera and Maran districts.

He said the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) also took the initiative of uniting smallholders by forming the Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOC) in the effort to help them obtain the MSPO certification. — Bernama