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Last Updated: 31 January 2020

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MEDIA RELEASE

_{^{IN SOLIDARITY WITH CHINA, MALAYSIA PLEDGES 18 MILLION PIECES OF MEDICAL GLOVES FOR THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN WUHAN}}

Malaysia is in full solidarity with the people of Wuhan, China, who are currently battling the the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic.

Whilst Malaysians are concerned about the spread of the virus to our shores, we are equally sympathetic towards China, especially given that the two countries share deep cultural and business ties which have been built over decades.

China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years, with trade growing 8.1% to RM313.8 billion in 2018. Culturally the two countries are intertwined by reason of their historical tryst.

At present, hospitals in Wuhan, the Central Chinese city, at the crux of the coronavirus outbreak, are calling for out for much needed protective medical supplies such as masks, suits and gloves, as supplies run low.

As our Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced on Wednesday that Malaysia would like to extend a helping hand and in that context, I am pleased that Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) and the rubber gloves manufacturers in Malaysia have pledged to donate 18 million pieces of medical gloves to be sent to Wuhan.

It was during the Chinese New Year celebration that these companies were approached to contribute towards helping China in the effort of treating patients there.

Although many were still enjoying the break, the top leadership of the glove manufacturers in Malaysia stepped forward and gave their commitment in ensuring this initiative would be a success.

Malaysian glove industry players are prepared to be at the forefront of supplying high quality medical gloves to the world, especially in critical times such as this to battle against the outbreak and the current pandemic.

In 2014, Malaysia sent more than 20 million medical rubber gloves to five African nations (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Congo) which were battling the deadly Ebola virus, addressing the need of the medical workers in those countries at that time.

The medical gloves, both natural rubber and nitrile, will be sent to China in batches with the first shipment being already on its way to Wuhan.

Two companies, Top Glove and Supermax have already donated 2.3 million pieces of gloves through their local offices and distributors to Wuhan. Other glove companies that came forward to support the humanitarian drive are Smart Glove,Hartalega, Kossan, YTY, Brightway and Koon Seng.

Malaysia is currently the world leader in medical gloves, with approximately 180 billion pieces exported worldwide. In 2018, Malaysia’s glove exports contributed RM17.7 billion to the nation while in 2019, the export touched RM18 billion.

YB Teresa Kok
31 January 2020
Minister of Primary Industries

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Last Updated: 03 March 2022

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PRESS STATEMENT ON CLOSURE OF PLANTATION OPERATIONS IN SABAH DURING MCO

YAB Chief Minister of Sabah yesterday made an announcement on the closure of estate and mill operations to an additional 3 districts bringing the areas affected to about 65% of the total planted hectarage of 1.2 million hectares and 75% of production in Sabah involving about 100,000 workers.

The Industry fully appreciate and understand the State Government concerns on the rising trend of Covid 19 incidents happening in Sabah and measures taken to save lives and we fully support the concerns.

The Industry however is even more concerned on the social impact to the closure decision as well as the resulting consequential damage to the Industry. This closure shall result in:

1. Idle workers being confirmed to their home for long hours without practicing social distancing and living in close proximity that can lead to contact to the virus.

2. Difficulty and impossible to stop them from leaving and the possibility of them wandering around thus posing a security and crime threat as well as defeating the objective of the MCO. Imagine 50,000 workers doing so.

3. Risk of losing our estate and mill workers. They will resort to leaving the estate searching for jobs elsewhere or returning to their home country for good. (Not all Companies can afford to pay without work)

4. Resumption and normalization of operation when allowed shall pose a big challenge to the Industry without the required workers available to do so. Extended harvesting rounds, high FFA and default palm oil contracts are some of the examples on the immediate impact to operations.

The above only highlight the operational nightmare notwithstanding the potential revenue loss of about RM860 million for a month closure in Sabah. The loss in the 7.5% sales tax revenue to the Government amounting to about RM57 million could actually be used to support the fight to contain Covid 19 that benefits the Rakyat.

The Industry has already given its commitment to support the Government in its battle to contain the spread by introducing and adhering to radical and robust guidelines and SOPs at all our estates and mills. Included in our action is what we called “ Voluntary Lockdown “We are even agreeable to a temporary closure to our operating units that have employees affected by the Covid 19 and taking the necessary measures to cleanse and disinfect the affected premises.

Considering all the above factors, we humbly request and appeal to the Sabah State Government to reconsider their decision and allow us to resume operation ONLY for the essential and critical operation example harvesting, crop evacuation as well as milling during the MCO. The Industry strongly feels that we can better contain the spread by continuing operations rather than curbing them.

THANK YOU.

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Last Updated: 07 February 2020

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MEDIA RELEASE

Medical Gloves Contributed by Malaysia-China Silk Route Chamber destined for other provinces in China

Today I am witnessing the sending off of 3.75 million pieces of hand gloves (both latex powder free and powdered types) and 20,000 pieces of protective clothing for medical use to China.

The medical gloves are donated by Malaysia-China Silk Route Chamber to be sent Hunan, Hubei, Hainan, Shandong and Guangdong.

Before this, Malaysia has pledged to contribute 18 million pieces of medical gloves in total to China through Malaysia Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) with nine rubber glove manufacturers in Malaysia had stepped forward for the cause.

This time the Malaysia-China Silk Route Chamber has came forward to heed the various requisitions for aid in kind from its counterparts and stakeholders from different parts of China. The requests were received during Lunar New Year where factories were mostly closed.

We are not duplicating the inaugural effort made by the local NGOs in aid of Wuhan, but instead zero in on municipalities contagiously hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Business Chamber is spearheading an ad hoc Aid- in -kind program, titled " To China With Love ". It has to solicit monetary sponsorship as well as to procure the necessary items for medical use, which are accepted by the Chinese authorities.

YB TERESA KOK
Minister of Primary Industries
PUTRAJAYA 7 February 2020

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Last Updated: 22 January 2020

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ELIGIBILITY FOR MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL (MSPO) CERTIFICATION SCHEME INCENTIVES

1. Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) would like to refer to the Government announcement on 5 October 2019 that ONLY those who have successfully obtained the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification or initiated the certification process before 1 January 2020 are eligible to apply for MSPO incentive.

2. Thus, with effect from 1st January 2020, MSPO incentives are only claimable by those entities who have signed agreements with Certification Bodies (CBs) before 1st January 2020 or are already in the process of MSPO certification audit.

3. As such, growers having more than 40.46 ha or 100 acres of oil palm and palm oil processing facilities that have initiated MSPO/SCCS certification process will need to submit a copy of the signed agreement with the appointed Certification Body to MPOCC. The eligible CBs are listed in MPOCC website (https://www.mpocc.org.my/certification-bodies)

4. Estates with areas between 40.46 to 1,000 ha will be eligible for 100% of auditing fees claim, which includes audit man-days, report writing, stakeholders consultation and peer review. In addition, they are also eligible for 50% preparation costs claims, limited to the costs for MSPO policies and system documents, social impact assessment (SIA), environment aspect and impact (EAI) report, high biodiversity value (HBV) report, training for Greenhouse Gas calculation and training for internal audit and management review. The amounts of reimbursement for preparation costs will be up to maximum RM10,000.

5. Estates with areas more than 1,000 ha and palm oil processing facilities such as mill, kernel crusher, refinery, oleochemical plant and biodiesel plant are eligible for 30% incentives of the audit fees.

6. MSPO incentives for independent smallholders and organised smallholders are under the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). For independent smallholders, MPOB will cover the cost of training, cost of auditing, documentation, personal protective equipment and chemical storage rack. Meanwhile, organised smallholders are eligible for RM55 per hectare to cover the cost of auditing, training, social and environmental impact assessments.


Statement by:
Mr Chew Jit Seng
Chief Executive Officer, MPOCC
21 January 2020