KUALA LUMPUR: Plantation owners have been told to be open to hiring workers from countries like India and Pakistan and reduce dependence on Indonesian and Bangladeshi workers.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry also expressed hope for plantation owners to look into long-term solutions to reduce dependency on foreign workers.
Through technological studies and research conducted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), she said plantation owners were advised to increase the use of automation including drones for the purpose of surveillance and pest control.
"MPIC is confident that the use of automation at plantations will attract local workers to this sector. The use of greater automation will help reduce our dependence on foreign workers and make the industry more resilient in the long-run," she said in a statement.
She said the ministry would continue seeking solutions to overcome the manpower shortage in the plantation sector, especially oil palm.
"MPIC is aware of the woes faced by the Malaysian Estate Owners Association (MEOA) where a severe labour crunch of about 120,000 workers is said to be capable of causing losses in earnings by up to 10 per cent.
"All parties should be aware that among the main reasons for the shortage of manpower in the plantation sector was due to the closure of international borders, to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country and protect the people from the infectious disease,".
The ministry is currently working closely with the Human Resources Ministry, Wisma Putra, the Immigration Department and the Co-operative Commission Malaysia, among others, to look into ways to expeditiously resolve this issue.
The Government had in September 2021 approved plans to bring in 32,000 migrant workers for oil palm estates nationwide, and MPIC remains cautiously optimistic of achieving this target, if not more, although the issue of permits had been brought to our attention, said Zuraida.
"In this respect, MPIC feels that the current labour crunch in the oil palm sector will spur planters to start investing in technological tools and boost their own bottom lines in the long-run.
"MPIC believes that a greater uptake in automation can help position palm oil as the preferred edible oil globally, in line with the ongoing 'Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness' Campaign."