By Mahbob Abdullah
AS I began to write this note, I was glad to get the news that Sabah has allowed all the plantations to go back to work.
Six districts with the most coronavirus cases were under lockdown together with the estates in them. One cannot imagine when an estate is closed what it would look like for the owners, managers, staff, workers and their families.
In my six years of working in the plantations in Sabah, I have seen the areas grow from the few oil palm estates to be the biggest producer with 25% of the country’s production of 20 million tonnes of palm oil. It has the best soil, and high rainfall. The yields and oil extraction rates are among the highest in the land.
I try to picture a plantation that is not working. It would mean that the plants will keep on fruiting with the benefits of fertiliser and housekeeping. The bunches would start to ripen. Soon they would turn from black to red, and then over the days the loose fruits would fall, with a drop in quality.
With hundreds on the ground for each tree, the amount of work would multiply for it would take longer for a harvester to collect them, while it would take only about four minutes per bunch with the loose fruits on a normal day. He might leave loose fruit scattered in the bushes, and they would be of no good to anybody. Those would germinate and take up the food, water and space that would have gone to the productive palms.
It would be a long time for normal work to come back again, for the weeding rounds would be slow, the weeds would grow tall and bushes and creepers would claim back the paths and the roads. When short of workers, it would take months or years for the production to pick up again.
It is in this light that the managers of plantations had implored the state government to allow them to start work again. The bodies and associations that speak for them had been working hard to convince the people in power, and show that they have put in new rules, safeguards and SOPs.
They would check that the people stay in good health, wear masks, wash their hands regularly, and that social distancing is observed. There would be no visitors. Any case of infection would be reported fast for medical attention and isolation, and the estate would face further procedures including sanitising.
It is a relief that the work can start again, even if there are regulations that have to be observed. In the estates it is not hard to observe social distancing when the workers go to the field to do their jobs. The harvesting work would need only one person in 20ha, and there would be plenty of space left for other workers to go out to weed in the morning sun.
They are active and energetic and even on normal days they would still be looking for something to pass their time, and that is why the estates would organise football in the evening and other games to keep their attention. Even the spectators too are excited in cheering their team.
Without the estate work it is likely that many would sneak out to town or visit friends and break all the rules, and they might come back with the virus. The managers worry that many would not come back at all. Production would stop. The state has many of these plantations and mills which were affected by the closure, including Sawit Kinabalu, Benta Wawasan and Sabah Softwood, and their income too had been at risk.
The mills have to follow the regulations as well. If they are shut, no more fruit would arrive, and palm oil or kernel would come out from them. There are bulking tanks and refineries, and pipelines for shipments. Failure to deliver is a nightmare that the managers of refineries and their marketing people dread. Eventually the buyers would run out of stock and might not want to go elsewhere to get their oil.
To get the government to help, many bodies had got together, including the MPOA and MEOA, as well as the East Malaysia Planting Association, and they have worked hard to get the data for the state to make a decision. Their leaders including Datuk Nageeb Wahab, Jeffrey Ong, Joseph Tek, Masri Pudin and Anthony Wong have worked in many ways to stress the need to have the plantations running again.
In his own personal capacity, Tan Sri Yusof Basiron, a leading figure in the industry and a scientist, has said in his Facebook page that he saw it in simple terms. The spread of the virus can be limited by all using face masks, carry soap when working in the field and wash their hands, and keep a distance correctly among the palms. The virus would have little chance to spread and these practices can break the chain.
They are all points that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal would not disagree with. He has smallholders and voters at his door who are also asking him to let them go to work. Some of the politicians also have oil palm land. He also knows about the economic loss. But he also knows that if he is careless, his record will be judged by how many people will die. Their safety comes first.
The crisis we are dealing with today is new and to help him, Mohd Shafie has a Central Command Centre. Many are top figures in the state government. However, it might not have chieftains from the industry in Sabah.
As the issue will be there for as long as the virus is a threat, it would be useful to include a few members from the industry in Sabah who would give their input. There is a need to work hand in hand, meet and visit often, so that all can be of the same mind and reach their decisions fast.
Now that the decision is made, the plantations have to play their part and their job is to see that they follow the regulations, gloves and masks are worn, and any suspected cases are reported for investigation. There will be teams who will come to see if any plantation is not following the rules. Anyone who flouts the law can be caught and it can hurt the rest who abide by it strictly. To go again to ask for help after a second closure would be a very difficult task indeed.
For now, it is a relief to know that the Sabah has allowed work to resume and palm oil production will once again help the flow of business. But many things will have to change. The crisis gives us reason to think harder on where the plantations are heading as an industry. Research needs to be stepped up, including on the mechanisation and robotics often talked about, so that the work can be done with fewer people and the risks of disease can be reduced. — April 13, 2020
Mahbob Abdullah is a former planter
