26 July 2010

SANDAKAN: The State government’s move to turn Lahad Datu into a downstream processing hub for palm oil has received positive response from foreign and local investors.
 “The project will cover more than 3,000 acres when it is fully developed,” Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said adding that it was only 500 acres when it first started in 2005.

 He was speaking when delivering his address during the 121st annual dinner of the East Malaysia Planters’ Association (Empa) at the Sabah Hotel on Saturday.
 Musa said aside from investments directly linked to palm oil, the Palm Oil Industry Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu also offers opportunities to a wide range of supporting industries needed for a sector which contributed RM4 billion in State revenue.
 “The State Government is committed to the development of the POIC as it sees its potential in creating wealth. There is a bright future for palm oil in the world edible oil market,” Musa who is also the Finance Minister, added.
 He said the State Government would continue to take corrective steps to improve on government policies and the performance of the public management system in its effort to further develop Sabah.
 ‘We will also keep our focus on education to create knowledgeable workers. The education hub in Sandakan, which will include the University Malaysia Sabah School of Sustainable Agriculture shows the government’s commitment in making sure we have competent human capital,” Musa said.
 He added that a number of projects had been listed in the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) blueprint, which would also see the State bridging regional growth and bringing progress equally to all the people of Sabah.
 Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also called on the plantation industry to provide serious attention to the improvement of infrastructure, housing and other facilities for workers.
 “Owners should not focus on profit alone as it is the corporate social responsibility of companies to improve the welfare of workers, and this will in the longer term attract a bigger pool of domestic workers,” Musa added.
 Empa chairman Haji Othman Walat said the association would continuously meet with the respective authorities to discuss new issues affecting the plantation industry like the proposed increase in levy and security deposit on foreign workers and the possibility of importing foreign labourers from other countries apart from Indonesia and the Philippines.
 “Empa will intensify its cooperation with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) in technology transfer and in-depth research on the Ganoderma disease faced by the palm oil industry in the coming years,” Othman said.
 Haji Othman Walat later witnessed the presentation of a cheque by the Chief Minister to Brother Francis Chua of the Monfort Youth Training centre. The money was raised from a charity golf tournament organised by Empa in conjunction with its 121st     anniversary.
 
 (Source: New Sabah Times)