Cameron Highlands facing serious labour shortage

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The Cameron Highlands District Council and the Immigration Department have been urged to identify the best mechanism to overcome the problem of shortage of foreign labourers in the farming and plantation sectors in the highlands, following the Op Gading crackdown recently to combat land encroachment.
The Regent of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said the dearth of manpower in the sectors must be quickly filled and the quarters concerned must provide a win-win formula to enable those who were given temporary Occupation Licences (TOL) to recruit foreign labourers to work on their land.
"It is indeed a serious situation not only for the lands which have been encroached upon previously but also on tea and strawberry plantations which prior to this used foreign workers.
"We must understand Cameron Highlands is a high quality vegetable and fruit producing area not only for the domestic market but also abroad. Imagine the losses incurred if we don't have manpower," he said.
He said this to reporters after attending a briefing on the Cameron Highlands Land Encroachment Eradication Operation here today which was also attended by Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.
Tengku Abdullah said the farming and plantation sectors in the area needed an estimated 1,000 foreign labourers to ensure the production of vegetables, fruits and flowers were not disrupted.
At the same time, he expressed satisfaction at the action taken by National Security Council (MKN) which had successfully eradicated land encroachment for farming purposes in the area.
"We are also in the process of rehabilitating and re-greening the areas affected by awarding TOL especially to those who depend on farming to support their families," said Tengku Abdullah.
He said the state government had approved more than 1,200 TOL out of 2,000 applications while the rest were still being processed.
In addition, Tengku Abdullah also reminded residents and farmers in Cameron Highlands including in Lembah Bertam to look after the cleanliness of the popular tourism destination.