Sawit Kinabalu welcomes proposal to issue special docs for foreign workers

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Othman (middle) together with Sawit Kinabalu Group’s Head of Finance and Corporate Services Mary Ku and Head of Plantation Business Masri Pudin at the Hari Raya Open House on Saturday.

KOTA KINABALU: Sawit Kinabalu Group welcomes the State Government’s proposal to issue special documents for foreign labour workers in Sabah.

Group managing director Datuk Othman Walat said the state’s oil palm industry is currently facing shortage of labour workers and the issue must be addressed as the state’s economy is dependant on the growth of the said industry.

“I think they (the State Government) are looking at it now. They are taking positive steps. Oil palm is the biggest revenue (generator) for Sabah. Sabah has one third of the total oil palm in Malaysia so, if we lose this revenue of oil palm, we are losing a lot.

“It would be very difficult for the government to manage the economy without oil palm. The government has to pay serious attention to help the industry,” Othman told reporters when met at the group Hari Raya Open House on Saturday.

He opined that the state government has yet to finalize the said proposal as the issue in question is very complex. Furthermore, the state government would want to refrain from making ad hoc solutions as such solutions might not gel well with the industry.