THE number of rubber estates in the country has dropped to only 203 last year compared with 1,357 estates in 1990, the Dewan Rakyat sitting was told yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Hamzah Zainudin said the sharp drop in the number of rubber estates also resulted in the drop in the acreage of rubber estates from 348,700 hectares in 1990 to only 64,200 hectares last year.
“The drop in the acreage of rubber plantations was due to the conversion of status from rubber estates to oil palm plantations and commercial activities such as housing, manufacturing plants and highway construction,” he said during the question and answer session.
He was replying to M Manogaran (DAP-Telok Intan) who wanted to know the number of rubber estates that had stopped operations and converted their status for development purposes and the number of estate workers affected due to such developments.
Hamzah said the ministry did not have official data on the number of rubber estate workers who had lost their job and home due to the development projects but emphasised that the government always ensured that their employers provided compensation to the affected workers.
He said the workers were usually given an option whether to accept the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) or the Termination Layout Benefit which ensured that the workers’ rights were guaranteed should there be any closure of the estates. — Bernama