KOTA KINABALU, April 2 — The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) Vice President Tan Sri Andrew Liew, hopes at least one Sabahan will be appointed to serve as a member of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).
He expressed this after attending a breaking of fast ceremony with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Beijing, China on March 31.
Anwar was in Beijing on an official visit to China.
In addition to actively meeting and communicating with Chinese representatives, Anwar also met with Malaysians in China.
On the evening of March 31, the Prime Minister joined in a breaking of fast ceremony while seeking greater cooperation opportunities for bilateral business.
After the breaking of fast with Chinese Muslim business representatives, he took the time to speak with more than 300 business leaders from Malaysia.
During the exchange, Liew who was the sole Sabahan to speak at the event, said that in order to promote the healthy development of the palm oil plantation industry in Malaysia, the Prime Minister could appoint at least one Sabahan to serve as a member of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.
According to Liew this is because a Sabahan would have a better understanding of the situation in Sabah.
“If a Sabahan is a member of the Palm Oil Board, it would result in more effective communication with the federal authorities and thus get twice the result with half the effort,” said Liew, who is also Sabah United Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SUCCC) president.
He also expressed hope that the Prime Minister would pay attention to the shortage of human resources in Sabah and pointed out that the palm oil industry in Sabah is currently facing a shortage of 30 per cent in manpower.
He opined that Sabah urgently needs a labour law with full authority to strengthen the development of the palm oil industry and independently employ human resources including foreign workers.
Liew, who is also a member of the Sabah Economic Advisory Council, said that if Sabah can regain control of human resources, the potential benefit of Sabah is that it will generate additional income, which may bring an additional RM700 million per year to Sabah’s coffers.
He said according to a study by the East Malaysia Growers Association, due to labour shortage, Sabah loses about RM400-500 million from palm fruit tax every year.
In addition, Liew, who is also the CEO of Andamy Plantations Group, said that he also hopes that the Unity Government under the leadership of Anwar will be sympathetic to the palm oil industry in Sabah and pay attention to various taxes that are unfavourable to the palm oil industry, including palm oil Windfall Tax and Sale Tax.
“Although various industries in our country are moving towards recovery and normalization, the oil palm industry, which is in urgent need of manpower, is facing a development bottleneck.
“The shortage of human resources and unfavourable taxation have made the oil palm industry, which is preparing to take advantage of the epidemic, stagnate and not move forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar also co-hosted the 2023 Malaysia-China Business Forum with Minister of Trade and Industry Datuk SeriTengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz at the China World Hotel in Beijing on April 1.
Malaysian representatives included Liew and other business tycoons. — Borneo Post
