KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): The ratio of local workers to foreign workers stands at 1:1.3 in the plantation sector as of December 2022, said Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.  

Based on official data from the Malaysian Immigration Department, he said the latest number of foreign workers in the plantation sector stood at 173,696, compared to 133,368 local workers. 

Fadillah, who is also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, said the sector is implementing various initiatives to attract the younger folk, including encouraging industry players to adapt use of mechanisation in the work process and organising an agricommodity career carnival. 

“The use of mechanisation and modern technology in the estate can attract young local workers to work on the estate. This is not only because mechanisation can speed up the work process, but it can also guarantee a better income for the new generation of operators,” he said in a written parliamentary reply on Thursday (March 30).  

The ministry is also empowering human capital by improving the skills of local workers through training and courses in the plantation sector under the Institute of Malaysian Plantation and Commodities (Impac), Fadillah said. 

It is partnering with the industry, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Human Resources in addressing the issue of unemployment and the involvement of more youth in the plantation sector.  

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/661480