04/09/2008 (The Argus.co.uk) - A Sussex man has become the only non-Malaysian to be given an award for his contribution to the country.

Leslie Davidson has been honoured with a Merdeka award for his outstanding contribution to the people of Malaysia.

The 77-year-old spent much of his working life developing oil palm plantations in the Asian country and was recognised for his breakthrough in revolutionising the insect pollination of oil palms using weevils, the most effective pollinator in Cameroon.

Their introduction to Malaysia greatly increased palm oil output there. In 1982 it increased by an estimated 400,000 tonnes and palm kernels by 300,000 tonnes, with a total value of $370million.

Mr Davidson, who has already been given the title Datuk, the Malaysian equivalent of a knighthood, said he was shocked to win the award, which comes with a medal and a prize of £80,443.

He said: “When I was first called about the award I thought it was just a sales person calling, until the lady explained what it was about.

“Then it was a big surprise.”

Mr Davidson first went to Malaysia in 1951 where he worked for the Pamol Estate oil palm plantation near Kluang, Johor, before being seconded to Cameroon in 1957 and later to Nigeria.

In 1960 he was sent to Sabah, a Malaysian state in the north of Borneo, by Unilever as a plantation manager.

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

He said: “What happened was the palm oil seeds had been introduced to Malaysia from Africa, but although the seeds had been taken the eco-system, such as the insects necessary to pollinate it, hadn’t.

“I managed to get a scientist sent to Africa who spent four years studying weevils, which were brought back to Kew Gardens. In the late 1970s they were released in Malaysia and the palm oil industry just exploded. It was just reuniting the palm tree with its proper ecology.”

Mr Davidson, of East End Lane, Ditchling, who is originally from Aberdeen, has also written a book describing his early days in Sabah called East of Kinabalu.

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

Mr Davidson will fly out to a ceremony in November to receive his prize and said with eight grand-children and three great-grandchildren he has plenty of ideas of how to spend his money.