Confusion over oil palm fine

Has the Malaysian Palm Oil Board "abolished", "deferred" or "withdrawn" the enforcement of Section 21 of the MPOB (Licensing) Regulations 2005?

PETALING JAYA: A reportedly “deferred”, “withdrawn” and “abolished” sub-regulation penalising oil palm plantation owners in Sabah for gathering unripe fruits has left Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui confused.

She told FMT that oil palm smallholders were still being harassed by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) officials despite announcements that Section 21 of the MPOB (Licensing) Regulations 2005 has been withdrawn.

According to the MPOB website, offenders harvesting unripe palm oil could face a RM200,000 fine and a three-year and/or a three-year jail term under the regulation.

“People who are harvesting their own fruits are (still) getting the penalty. People have been appealing to us, and they’re worried,” she said adding that it was akin to killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

Chua said 35% of the nation’s total oil palm plantations were in Sabah. It comprised 1.36 million hectares of palm oil fields.

Asked why the MPOB did this, she said: “It is there to make sure that the oil extraction rate is at 23%. [But] you have to find other ways [for this].”

The confusion arose following reports in the mainstream media in Sabah that the MPOB had “abolished”, “deferred” or “withdrawn” the enforcement of the sub-regulation.

But MPOB chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad clarified that the section was not actually “abolished”.

He said “it’s application to growers was instead withdrawn”.

“The issue arose from the extension of the regulation to smallholders or estates who sell fruits to dealers,” he said.

These holders, he added, also referred to estates that did not have their own oil mills.

“We have since withdrawn its application to growers, but will continue to enforce it on dealers and mills,” said Shahrir, who is also the Umno-Johor Baru MP.

He also said that the hefty fines were there only on paper, and that no dealer or miller has todate had to pay the maximum fine.

Chua, meanwhile said that although she had raised the issue with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Giluk Dompok,there had been no response.