PARLIAMENT | Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali today said Malaysia requires a "fair platform" to address unverified allegations of forced labour linked to its plantation sector.
Referring to the United States import ban enforced on FGV palm oil products, Khairuddin said the lack of a fair platform had caused the issue to drag on for years despite ongoing responses from FGV to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency.
"They made allegations, we answer, they made (more) allegations we have to answer.
"So for me, we (the government) are not only looking to address this issue (US import ban) but I have taken the strategy to open up more markets for Malaysian palm oil products in countries with a higher demand," said Khairuddin during question time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The Kuala Nerus MP was responding to a supplementary question from Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (Pakatan Harapan-Hang Tuah Jaya) on whether the forced labour issue will be raised at an upcoming Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries meeting in order to better respond to the allegations.
Overall, he said FGV's export to the US only comprised 40 tonnes or 0.0013 percent of its three million total exports while Malaysia's total palm oil exports to the US stood at 292,940 tonnes from May to September this year.
“Therefore, the ban imposed on the Malaysian products by the US does not significantly affect the sector at this point in time," Khairuddin told Jalaluddin Alias (BN-Jelebu) who asked on the impact of the US ban on FGV.
At an industry level, Khairuddin said his ministry through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board was actively engaging with all companies to resolve "technical issues" deemed as a forced labour indicator, including the withholding of passports even with the consent of a worker.
He added that the current restrictions of entry due to Covid-19 were also part of a long-term solution to address issues surrounding the hiring of migrant workers and the vacancies could open up more opportunities for Malaysians in need of jobs.
"In the short-term, the government will help to resolve a shortage of migrant workers by relaxing conditions to change employers, allowing employers with no capacity to continue paying their workers to transfer them to another company," he said.
FGV has denied allegations of using forced labour and insisted that concrete steps were taken to address the issues raised since 2015.
In announcing the ban, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency said a year-long investigation had revealed indications of forced labour, including abuse of the vulnerable, deception, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats and retention of identity documents among others.
The investigation also reportedly raised concerns that forced child labour was potentially being used by FGV. - Mkini
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