.jpg "A general view of a palm oil plantation in Kuala Selangor January 2, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) and the Malaysian Estate Owners Association (MEOA) have called on the Sabah state authorities to allow plantations and mills with no Covid-19 cases in six districts to resume operations.
The six districts are Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Kunak, Semporna and Kalabakan.
“Any further prolonged shutdown is a lost social-economic opportunity, as a commodity like palm oil is one of the few sectors that can keep the economic momentum of the state running in the current down-turn,” MPOA and MEOA said in a statement today.
They were responding to a Bloomberg report today stating that the issue pertaining to the shutdown of the oil palm supply chain in the six districts would be discussed at the state cabinet meeting tomorrow.
According to the two associations, the economic impacts of the shutdown include the losses in cess to the state and many other related spin-offs, multiplying the economic impact on the surrounding communities.
“That involves the livelihoods of people, especially in the six districts, ranging from transporters, input and service providers, workshops as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” they said.
The wider concerns of many planters are related to a potential heightening of social tensions arising from a prolonged shutdown, they added.
The Sabah government on March 30 announced the closure of estate and mill operations at another three more districts (Kunak, Semporna and Kalabakan), bringing the total area that would be closed until April 14 to about 65 per cent of the total 1.2 million-hectare planted area. — Bernama
