KUCHING: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities should provide detailed figures on oil palm planted areas in the state for the first half of this year.
Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen said this was important because the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) stopped giving seedlings to small estate holders in Sarawak three months ago purportedly because the target for oil palm planted areas in the state had been reached.
Chong, who is also state DAP chairman and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, told a press conference here yesterday the excuse given by MPOB was unjustifiable.
This is because, he said, based on December 2012 figures Sarawak only has oil palm planted area of 1,442,588 hectares, while Peninsular Malaysia has 2,558,103 hectares and Sabah (1,076,238 hectares).
“Given the land size of Sarawak, being the biggest state in Malaysia, it is greatly disproportionate to have that amount of oil palm planted area.
“How could the authorities claim they have achieved the target for the state?”
Chong claimed he asked the minister-in-charge Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas recently during Parliament sitting and was told the policy was adopted because the state government did not want the Dayaks to plant on state lands.
Chong opined the MPOB policy had had reduced the income opportunities of rural folk.
“I would like to call on the ministry or the state government to explain what MPOB meant when it said it had achieved its target for oil palm planted areas and why Sarawak has the least areas?
“Also, do provide the figures for the total number of seedlings supplied to small estate holders.”
On the recent power blackout in the state, Chong said before any large power plant is connected to the main grid of the state’s power system, some studies and simulation should have been done.
“The massive power blackout was caused by a serious frequency drop at Bakun Hydroelectric Plant, and it affected the entire grid, as explained by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) chief executive officer Torstein Sjotveit.
“Now, according to experts in the field, it is common for power plants to suffer frequency drops.
“The main issue is how to manage it when it happens. Integration power studies and simulation must be done before the power plant is connected to the main grid and there must also be contingency plan to avoid severe effects.”