28/08/2008 (The Press and Journal) - AN ABERDEEN-BORN man has won a prestigious award for his contribution to Malaysia.

Leslie Davidson spent much of his working life developing oil palm plantations in the country and now he has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to the country.

Described as one of the giants of the industry in the second half of the 20th century, Mr Davidson was the only non-Malaysian to be honoured in the inaugural Merdeka awards.

He has already been given the title Datuk – the Malaysian equivalent of a knighthood – and will fly out to a ceremony in November.

The awards were founded last year by oil and gas firms Petronas, ExxonMobil and Shell to recognise lasting contributions to Malaysia.

Mr Davidson, 77, said: “I was quite surprised. I was not expecting it. I am delighted.”

His commendation is the result of his part in a breakthrough in the late 1970s which revolutionised the insect pollination of oil palms using weevils.

The changes gave a massive boost to the Malaysian economy.

As a young plantation manager in 1960, he had been sent to Sabah, a Malaysian state in the north of Borneo, by Unilever.

He gradually developed an oil palm estate covering about 25 square miles, but the fruit was not pollinating. He eventually had to employ 500 people to pollinate them by hand.

Meanwhile, his research led him to the weevil, the most effective pollinator in Cameroon.

Palm oil output increased by an estimated 400,000 tonnes and palm kernels by 300,000 tonnes in 1982, with a total value of $370million.

His book, East of Kinabalu, describes his early days in Sabah.

Mr Davidson said he was particularly pleased and proud to get the award.

He joked that he was also delighted because his award was not just a medal – it came with a £80,443 prize.