Unit to help obtain MSPO certification

Kota Kinabalu: The Primary Industries Ministry, along with the State Government, will establish a special unit to aid small oil palm growers and smallholders to ensure they obtain their Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification by Dec 2019.Its Minister Theresa Kok (pic) said it is vital that they obtain the certificates by the deadline as it is included in the Federal Government's planning to ensure Malaysian palm oil is certified and of quality.

"During our discussion, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal agreed that the State Government will collaborate with the Ministry in carrying out the MSPO certification for small palm oil farmers and smallholders.

"A special unit will be set up between my ministry and the State Government to cooperate in speeding up the MSPO certification for them," she said, after paying a courtesy call on Shafie at the Sabah Administrative Centre, Thursday.

Aside from MSPO certifications, Kok said issues such as the use of rubber in road construction was also highlighted where rubberised bitumen roads will be considered as well as seismic bearing for buildings in Sabah.

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"This (seismic bearing) is a design that would help big structures to avoid from cracking or collapsing in case earthquake hits the State," she said.

She also said the Ministry fully supports the State Government's move in banning export of logs and would work as an "agent" in attracting not only investors from Peninsula but also internationally.

"We (ministry) will be a marketing agent for the State government to invite business investors as well as big timber players in Peninsula and also overseas to invest in Sabah and develop the downstream of timber industry in the State," she added.

Meanwhile, Shafie said the collaboration and establishment of the special unit is much needed as there are currently only about 2,600 hectares that have been certified out of 221,000 hectares involving palm oil plantations.

He said it is important that these smallholders are certified to help the business sector develop as well as obtain a secured market value that would help them in increasing their income.

"We are aware that the MSPO certification is an initiative in penetrating international market and production although there are efforts by certain parties who do not encourage us in taking up this certification.

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"We are going to help them (palm oil farmers and small holders) as there is a sum of 221,000 hectare of land involved with palm oil plantation and only more than 2,000 of these total are certified under MSPO"

Shafie also said that discussions were carried out in making palm oil prices uniform to ensure that it would ease the farmers or small holders at the State level so that their efforts and investment would have a lucrative return in which would contribute in bringing up their morality to produce more and better productions in Malaysia. - Jeremy S Zabala

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