Kuala Lumpur (VNA) -  Twoof Sarawak state’s economic sectors heavily dependent on foreign labourers, oilpalm plantations and construction, are reeling from the Government’s banimposed on nationals from 23 countries from September 7.

The ban applies to countries recording more than150,000 COVID-19 cases and among them is Indonesia – the state’s sole approvedsource of foreign labourers.

Thepalm oil industry is a major contributor to Sarawak’s income as well as thefederal government in the form of taxes and other revenues earned from theindustry through export of crude palm oil (CPO).

Currently,the planted area has reached 1.7 million hectares, the largest single plantedarea and growth region in Malaysia.

Whilethe Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners’ Association (SOPPOA) said on itswebsite that the palm oil industry in the state “is critically short ofworkers”. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, plantations were already sufferingfrom labour shortage.

Theshortage is estimated at more than 45,000 and that, the association added, hasbecome a major crisis since the commencement of movement-control order (MCO)imposed since March 2020.

Itsaid no new Indonesian workers, particularly harvesters and general workers forthe so-called 3D work (dirty, dangerous and difficult), which locals generallyshun, are allowed into the country while those whose employment contractsexpired have left the country.

Compoundingthe problem is that the state’s population – just more than two million people– is small and the industry has to compete with other more lucrative sectorsfor the workers.

Moreworrisome for the industry too, is that the shortage will be prolonged and SOPPOAestimated that the restart of intake of new foreign workers will take betweensix and nine months to recover from the shortage now.

While SOPPOA sees the future rather bleak, the Sarawak Housing and Real EstateDevelopers’ Association (Sheda) saw the opposite and it showed some optimism inthe housing construction industry.

Propertydevelopers and their contractors have to make do with their existing humanresources. The property sector, like all the industries that rely heavily onIndonesian workers, should take this time to automate some of the work.

According to authorities, there are an estimated 138,000 foreign workers inSarawak state./.