The Malaysian Reserve (06/11/2020) - FGV Holdings Bhd is still in talks with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the latter’s findings of its investigation towards FGV’s alleged use of forced labour and the revocation of the withhold release order (WRO).

Plantation, Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that FGV has dealt with the CBP.

“A lot of the allegations have been replied in writing, but the process involved is long and they are still discussing the matter,” he said.

He said the CBP had issued the WRO to ban imports of palm oil and products from FGV on Sept 30.

The ban was made based on a petition brought forward by several NGOs to the CBP regarding the use of forced labour in FGV.

The validity of the allegation has yet to be verified, said Mohd Khairuddin.

He also said the ban on FGV’s palm oil products by the US, which came into effect on Oct 1, did not have any significant impact to the sector as of now.

FGV exports 40 tonnes of palm oil to the US, valued at about RM120,000 a year, and the US imports last year only stood at 0.0013%, he said.

The question was posed by Datuk Jalaluddin Alias (Barisan Nasional-Jelebu) who wanted the government to state how the ban by the US has affected palm oil products in the country for this year.

He also said Malaysia’s law does not allow any form of abuse, oppression or physical and sexual violence towards the workers in any sectors in the country.

However, he noted that an employer’s decision to hold the workers’ passport is probably practised for safety reasons within the organisation, after obtaining approval from their employees.

“This is, however, among the forced labour elements outlined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

“Among the ways that are currently practised by most of the big palm oil plantation companies to address this issue is by providing a designated place for the workers to put their passports and they are also allowed to take the passports at any time if they want to,” he said.

He said the matter must be explained to companies as it is an element of forced labour.

He added that FGV had a virtual discussion with CBP on Oct 8 to get an explanation regarding the import ban.

The CBP seemed positive in resolving the issue and will consider submitting a petition to revoke the WRO, said Mohd Khairuddin.

The petition must include an audit report from a reliable third-party auditing firm. Mohd Khairuddin said FGV will appoint an independent auditor soon to proceed with the audit.

Read more at https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/11/06/minister-us-seems-positive-in-resolving-fgv-issues/