FORCED labour cannot be eliminated without revolutionising the production processes in plantations.
I am amused by the ignorance or the lack of understanding on the part of the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin to argue for automation in the oil palm industry.
She recently said that automation in the use of drones for surveillance and spraying weed killers might enable Malaysia’s oil palm industry not only to reduce foreign labour but to also attract local manpower.
In this way, the country might shake off its dependence on foreign labour in the long run. Despite the high demand for foreign labour, the flow has been interrupted because of the new policies of the host countries with stricter conditions imposed on labour migration.
An interesting question is whether the plantation industry can be automated to the extent that it will be able to shake off its dependence on cheap and malleable labour force?
In bringing about technological changes, the reference is not so much about increasing surveillance or using drones for spraying weed killers as these are only external production processes.
Automation in these areas will have no effect in revolutionising the production process. In talking about technological changes to the plantation industry, the key emphasis should be the production processes themselves.
Shallow argument
An example is diversifying downstream activities of the oil palm industry through a process of industrialisation.
Rather than simply exporting crude palm oil either from the fruit or the kernel, the focus should be to come out with differentiated products from the oil extracted.
It is about turning palm oil into finished products with the use of technology and with added value of labour.
Technological innovation in the palm oil industry should centre on product differentiation along the production processes with the application of technology.
But unfortunately, Zuraida like other ministers has no idea of what is meant by technological innovation of the oil palm industry. Rather, her concerns are superficial and shallow in talking about the externalities of automation.
The use of drones in surveillance and spraying will not render the plantation industry as advanced and technologically inclined. By definition, the plantation industry whether in the production of palm oil or rubber or any other raw material products are supposed to be labour intensive in nature.
Whether they are plantations or other forms of low cost production activities, labour intensive industries invariably depend on cheap labour or in other words, forced labour.
It is not that these low cost producers have a liking for forced labour but since plantation industries pay little or no attention to the value of labour other than their regimented use, the value of labour in the form of high quality of finished products might not be there.
Low labour cost producers – whether they are in the plantation or manufacturing sectors – pay little or no attention to the value of labour. In fact, they do not require talented or skilled labour.
Drones aren’t tech innovation
Forced labour is the invariable consequences of low cost producers because very little value goes in the production of goods that are extracted from raw materials.
There is no capital deepening in the plantation production system as the bulk of the activity is focused on the extraction of oil or latex from the raw materials.
If only when there is differentiated downstream activities where raw materials are turned into quality products by recognition of labour talents, then it is possible to talk of technological innovation.
Technological innovation takes place in the plantation industries when labour is recognised for its contribution in the production process.
Externalities such as the use of drones and others have no place in the technological innovation process.
It is a complete nonsense to talk about external innovations bringing about better labour conditions.
Only when the production process is technologically innovated with better quality finished products with the application of technology and value of labour, then it is possible to talk about the industrialisation of the production process.
However, if this happens, then plantations would not be termed as such but would become a component of the manufacturing industry.
Whether this will happen or not remains to be seen as it will be a long historical process. – June 19, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
