KUALA LUMPUR – Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has begun legal proceedings against Liberty Shared managing director Duncan Jepson in the eastern district of Virginia, the United States, to obtain important information on a complaint he filed with Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
SDP said Jepson, in his complaint, alleged wrongful disclosures in the company’s Sustainability Report 2019, and SC subsequently sought additional information from it.
“Thus, it is important that SDP is able to obtain limited, but critical, information from the complaint filed by Jepson,” said the group in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
It said Jepson is and was at all material times the managing director of non-governmental organisation Liberty Shared.
The NGO filed a complaint with US Customs and Border Protection on April 20 last year, alleging the use of forced labour in the production of palm oil in SDP’s Malaysian estates.
SDP said it was made aware of the complaint on July 7, when Liberty Shared posted a summary of the complaint on its website.
“This summary did not contain sufficient information to allow SDP to close any alleged gaps in its operations, which would have naturally benefited our workforce.”
It said the legal proceedings, which began on March 9, marked the first time in its 200-year history that it has resorted to taking legal action against a civil group.
“SDP engages with civil society organisations across the world, supportive and respectful of the important role they play in society. It is this relationship of mutual respect that has allowed SDP to become an industry leader, trusted by our peers, customers and important stakeholders like highly reputable NGOs.
“It saddens us greatly that despite several direct and indirect engagements, Jepson continues to withhold vital information that could have helped the very workers he claims to champion.”
The company said it appointed PwC Singapore last October, on Jepson’s request, to share the information necessary to address the alleged issues found in its plantations, and subsequently, PwC Singapore appointed an individual who works closely with Jepson and Liberty Shared, also on Jepson’s request.
“Neither PwC Singapore nor the individual has been able to share the material information needed to address any issues that may exist in our plantations.” – Bernama, March 11, 2021
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