19/05/2011 (The Inquirer) - The Vice President of Liberia, Joseph N. Boakai, is expected to lead an array of government officials and senior members of Sime Darby Berhad Company this Thursday to Sime Darby Plantation in Garwula, Grand Cape Mount County, to plant the company's first oil palm tree. The program, which is scheduled to be held at Sime Darby's Matambo Estate in Garwula District, is also being attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sime Darby Berhad, the Right Honorable Tun Musa Hitam, and three other members of the Group's Board of Directors.

A year ago, Vice President Boakai also participated in the planting of the first seed at Sime Darby's multi-million seed oil palm nursery. This program therefore marks the transfer of the young trees from their nursery locations to their permanent sites in the plantation field.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honorable Alex Tyler, will lead members of the Joint Legislative Caucus of the three counties. They will also be joined by the Minister of Agriculture, Honorable Florence A. Chenoweth, and other officials of Government.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sime Darby Berhad, the Right Honorable Tun Musa Hitam, at the head of a high level board and management delegation, arrived in Monrovia Tuesday to participate in the program.

The Right Honorable Hitam has held many senior positions in the Malaysian government. He was minister of Primary Industries and Education. He was more recently Deputy Prime Minister and concurrently Minister of Home Affairs.

The Right Honorable Hitam also served as Joint Chairman of the Eminent Persons Group charged with planning the Association of South East Asian Nations' (ASEAN) 15-year agenda. He later became Chairman of the group that drafted ASEAN's Charter.

The former Deputy Prime Minister is a specialist in international affairs, and holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex in Sussex, United Kingdom.