MALAYSIA: Sarawak seeks more money for rubber planting

Sarawak will request for additional funds from the federal government to enable further development of rubber plantation in the state under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).

Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing believed that the approved federal allocation for that very purpose is still ‘too little’. “Under 11MP, we are given funds to open up only 2,500 hectares of land across Sarawak to plant rubber. That (number) is too small when we, in fact, had asked for more – I wish they (federal government) would have given us more than that.”  

“What it means is that we can only develop 500 hectares per year for the next five years; so to me, that’s peanut – I’m not very happy with it,” he told reporters after launching a rubber-planting scheme undertaken by Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) at Kampung Pesang in Padawan near Kuching on 30 Oct. 2015.

In this respect, Masing said the state’s request for additional 2,500 hectares to be developed over a period of five years was ‘nothing’, given that there was still a huge area of undeveloped Native Customary Rights (NCR) land in the state’. “So I will tell our party (PRS) boys to ask for more funds from the federal government because my hope is that we would get more than that. I am going to make an appointment to see Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) and will request for more funds from him,” he said.

Masing, who is also PRS president, said basically the main aim of the state government encouraging rubber planting was to bring poor families out of the ‘shackles of poverty’. “However with only 2,500 hectares to be developed (for rubber) in five years, I don’t think we can achieve this,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, Masing – who is also SLDB chairman – said the current downward trend in rubber prices should not discourage farmers from planting new trees now; instead of only planting them when prices went up. “The price of rubber, like any other commodity, is being determined by global demand. Who knows – five years from now after you plant the trees, the price may shoot up because of high demand. If that happens, I’m sure everyone wants to become a rubber taper – just like several years ago when even teachers were tapping rubber in the afternoon after school to gain extra income,” he said.

Therefore, Masing said landowners whose land was still uncultivated should quickly participate in any land development programme, especially those on rubber. Adding on, he said Kampung Pesang SLDB would be developing 200 hectares of land for rubber planting, involving 71 participants, at a cost of RM1.7 million. “We received over 100 applications but we could only approve 71 for the first phase. If we had more funds, we would start the second phase.”

Source: Daily “The Borneo Post”, Kuching; 31 Oct 2015
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)