KUALA LUMPUR – The Plantation Industries and Commodities Industry Ministry has expressed regret and disapproval regarding the drastic action taken by the United States to bar the entry of palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd without giving the company an opportunity to defend itself.
Its minister, Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali, said while the US Customs and Border Protection indeed had the right to issue a withhold release order on palm oil exported by any party to the country, it disagreed with how the move was made without allowing the company to prove whether the claim was baseless.
He said the Trump administration had once again blocked palm oil shipments to the US market without referring to the Malaysian government on the validity of the allegation of forced labour in the industry.
“This incident is not a surprise to the (Malaysian) government as a similar action was previously taken against FGV Holdings Bhd (in September) based on the same claim that has been denied by the company,” the minister said in a statement today.
According to him, it did not have a major impact on the financial and operational performance of FGV and the US government was in fact considering the petition to cancel the order against FGV’s products.
Therefore, he said, the ministry was confident that Sime Darby would also launch a protest and deny the unfounded allegation.
Khairuddin acknowledged there had been an incident of forced and child labour in the country’s palm oil sector in the past, but it was an isolated case based on a survey done in 2018.
The findings were also forwarded to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur early last month.
Based on the study, he said, the government had always reminded industry players to be more responsible and not be involved in activities that could hurt the country’s economy.
“The Malaysian government is committed to taking firm action against any company involved in forced labour if the allegation made by the US is true,” said Khairuddin.
Effective yesterday, the US has decided to detain palm oil and products containing palm oil produced by Sime Darby and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and affiliated entities in Malaysia.
According to the US, the order is based on information that “reasonably indicates” the presence of all 11 of the International Labour Organisation’s forced labour indicators in Sime Darby's production process.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) also urged Customs and Border Protection to share any information with it that would allow it to properly investigate the matter and report transparently on its findings.
“We can confirm that an initial review of audit findings earlier this year did not generate any red flags against SDP. We rely on independent auditors to detect violations of this nature and to date, no non-conformances have been identified on any certified SDP plantations,” it said in a statement today.
RSPO expressed concern about comments made to the media by CBP officials regarding evidence of serious violations of the RSPO Principles and Criteria 2018.
RSPO chief executive officer designate Beverley Postma said the organisation has zero tolerance for the practices described in the CBP press release, which is why the protection of human rights has been so deeply embedded in the RSPO standards.
“We condemn the use of forced labour or any other form of modern slavery on any plantation, certified or uncertified,” she said.
Postma added that human rights violations remain one of the toughest challenges for agricultural and industrial sectors that operate in low-income communities. – Bernama, December 31, 2020
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