Kudos to Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP), for establishing an Expert Stakeholder Human Rights Assessment Commission which will oversee a comprehensive evaluation of the group’s labour practices across its Malaysian operations.
With Malaysia being highlighted many times for possible Forced Labour practices across a few industries, this move by Sime Darby proves it wants to ensure that its supply chain is clean.
This move will also benefit the country as we try to climb up the ranks of improvement in the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
Other plantations must immediately follow this example to be accountable and transparent with their labour practices with the objective to identify any wrong practices and to correct them.
I have said this before when I was Minister of Human Resources and I will repeat myself, Malaysia must hold a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to Forced Labour.
This policy was a priority when I was Minister, in which we amended the Workers’ Minimum Standard of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Bill 2019, to start the ball rolling with amendments to improve our labour laws.
The Ministry of Human Resources must also have regular meetings with stakeholders to champion a similar Commission across the plantations sector. The government should also establish an oversight commission with all stakeholders to discuss, plan and make their findings public to address short comings in a transparent manner.
These actions will assist the plantation sector to improve their labour practices and standards.
There could be an imminent risk of economic sanctions on the Malaysian products by receiving countries, if our supply chain is found to still contain elements of forced labour.
Sime Darby has taken a transparent, sustainable and decisive measure to ensure migrant workers are protected. It is hoped that in the long term corporate Malaysia as whole would follow the lead taken by Sime Darby in establishing a human rights assessment commission to protect the Human Rights of its migrant workers.