Only 5% of plantation owners implemented housing scheme
Only five percent of plantation owners had implemented the housing scheme for estate workers under the Tun Razak House Ownership Scheme since it was introduced in 1973.
Written by S. Rutra, The Malaysian Insider
Only five percent of plantation owners had implemented the housing scheme for estate workers under the Tun Razak House Ownership Scheme since it was introduced in 1973.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan blamed the government for failing to implement stricter laws to ensure that these companies comply with the policy initiated by the second prime minister.
Instead of making it mandatory, he said the government chose to leave it to the discretion of the plantation owners.
“There is no political will to solve the issue, even though in the 1970s itself, the plantation community was recognised as part of the poverty group,” he told FMT.
The PSM leader was responding to a recent report in FMT on the plight of estate workers in Hulu Selangor, where some were found to be earning as low as RM33 a month after deductions.
According to Arutchelvan, an independent study carried out by Universiti Malaya found that it will not hurt the plantation industry if a minimum wage policy is implemented.
He said that the findings of the study, sponsored by the Malaysian Agriculture Producers Association (Mapa), was never released despite pressure from various groups.
“The government refuses to compel the plantation owners to implement the minimum wage policy and indirectly allows them to rely on foreign workers,” he said.
As for the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW), Arutchelvan said the union lacks the bargaining power.
