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in damage to approximately 13,672
young palms. In the circumstances,
plans to establish a patrol team
and construct trenches to deter
elephants from entering the
fields are underway. In any event,
all damaged palms have to be
replaced thus causing delays
before they can be harvested.
Ladang Sg Siput, Perak
The permission and approvals
for land development at our
greenfield estate in Sg. Siput,
Perak measuring 2,000 hectares
have been obtained from the
relevant authorities after much
delay. An environmental impact
assessment exercise (“EIA”) has
also being carried out and is now
pending final approval from the
Department of Environment.
As part of the EIA exercise,
management held 2 focus group
discussions to share information
with and seek feedback from
the indigenous and local
communities, local authorities
and NGOs regarding the planned
development. It is pleasing to
note that based on the outcome
of the survey undertaken among
the stakeholders, 61.2% of the
respondents expressed their
agreement towards the project.
We hope to be in a position to
commence initial development
works in this current financial year.
Capital expenditure (“CAPEX”)
During the year under review, the
division spent RM19.95 million on
CAPEX largely towards plantation
development works and purchase/
replacements of fixed assets.
Furthermore, the infrastructure
at all our new developments have
been designed to facilitate in-
field mechanization. We provide
good quality housing for our
workers and further investments in
workers’ housing as well as other
estate infrastructures will continue
in this current financial year. Roll-
out of the upgraded IT system
across all our Malaysian estates
which commenced last year is
expected to be completed in this
current financial year. The new IT
system would provide the Group’s
head office more visibility and
control of the estates’ operations.
Sustainability Standards
Certification
As at 31 March 2019, all our 4
Malaysian estates have been
recommended for certification to
the Malaysian Sustainable Palm
Oil standards (“MSPO”) and are
now pending certificate issuance.
Selected employees have been
sent for training to ensure that we
performance
review
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