Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
From Our Readers

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) wishes to respond to the views expressed by Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) on the plight of oil palm smallholders in Sarawak, which was published in the Letters section of Malaysiakni on Oct 9, 2014.

MPOB is tasked to regulate the oil palm industry through regulatory measures (licensing and enforcement). All sectors, including the smallholders, are licensed and their activities are monitored by MPOB in order to ensure that the oil palm industry is well regulated.

Under the MPOB licensing regulations, the smallholders are required to renew their licences on an annual basis at no charge. The renewal of the licence will allow MPOB to update the status of the smallholders, such as oil palm acreage and the capacity of the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) produced.

There have been 304 police reports on the alleged theft of FFB in Sarawak from 2013 until July 2014. Due to this increasing cases of FFB theft reported in Sarawak, MPOB is obligated under the MPOB Act 582 to take action to address the situation.

MPOB has stepped up its enforcement activities in Sarawak. To date, 14 show cause letters have been issued to licensees, one to an oil palm mill and 12 to FFB dealers who have committed offence of purchasing FFB from unlicensed suppliers.

One smallholder was asked to show cause for selling FFB not from his licensed premises.

To further strengthen enforcement activities and to curtail theft of FFB, MPOB has also issued a circular to all oil palm mills and FFB dealers requiring them to monitor the FFB supply from all smallholders and to stop purchasing FFB from smallholders who supply FFB exceeding the production capacity of two metric tonnes per  hectare.

Following the “show cause” process, MPOB has cancelled four licences, suspended nine licences and one licensee was issued a warning.   

We would like to reiterate that we at MPOB take pride in carrying out our enforcement duties diligently, without fear or favour, and in upholding transparency and fairness in our professional execution of this responsibility as the regulator of the oil palm industry in the country.

The government, through MPOB will continue to provide extension services to smallholders and to assist smallholders, such as providing providing financial assistance for replanting and new planting of oil palm and facilitating the selling of FFB through, among others, the establishment of Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOC).

ADS