KUALA LUMPUR – It may take another year before the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lifts its ban on products from Sime Darby Bhd and five other companies, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
This is according to Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim, who called for patience as Putrajaya worked to remove these firms from the withhold release orders (WRO) issued by the US.
“It could take about a year for us to examine and look into the criteria yet to be fulfilled,” he said in Parliament today.
“At the moment, these companies are cooperating very well with the government so that action can be taken to ensure a positive impact on the economy. We plan to get an outcome in a year’s time.”
Awang was responding to a supplementary question from Sivarasa Rasiah (Sg Buloh-PH) on the efforts taken by the government to lift the ban on Sime Darby and when the matter is expected to be resolved.
The PKR lawmaker reiterated that Sime Darby has been issued a WRO since December 2020, while a notice of finding was issued on January 27 this year, which allows US authorities to seize goods upon entry into the country.
Other than Sime Darby, seven other Malaysian glove makers and palm oil companies had previously been issued WROs, although two of them – for WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd and Top Glove Corporation Bhd – have been lifted in March 2020 and September 2021, respectively. – Awang said the government plans to make the six remaining companies on the US ban list emulate the measures taken by WRP Asia Pacific and Top Glove, among several steps to expedite the lifting of the WRO.
Earlier, the deputy minister noted that the US has agreed to the formation of a working committee to address issues of forced labour involving local companies, which will meet every three months.
According to him, the first meeting will be held online next month, while the second meeting is scheduled to be held physically in the city centre here in December.
“Various programmes are expected to take place (during these meetings), including capacity building, information and technology sharing, as well as dialogue sessions with stakeholders, including industry players and trade unions.”
To another question from Larry Sng (Julau-PBM), Awang said the ministry is constantly engaging the six remaining companies under the WROs, while at the same time monitoring their progress. – The Vibes, July 28, 2022
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