[26 Jan] Malaysian Investors Invited to Open Rubber, Oil Palm Estates in Kalimantan

South Kalimantan Governor Rudy Ariffin has invited Malaysian investors to invest in the plantation sector, particularly in the opening of rubber and oil palm estates, in the Kalimantan province.

He said there were ample opportunities for Malaysian investors to participate in the programme given the vast tracts of idle land that could be turned into rubber and oil palm estates.

The provincial government had allocated 30 per cent of the land area for plantations and farms, he said.

"We prefer investors to come in to invest in the plantation sector as the move will not only guarantee us a steady long-term revenue but also provide jobs for the 3.8 million people in south Kalimantan," he told a Malaysian delegation of journalists and businessmen from Sabah led by former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh who are on a 10-day visit to Kalimantan.

The visit, sponsored by Berjaya Foundation and coordinated by the Indonesian Consulate in Kota Kinabalu, is to explore investment prospects in Kalimantan and to forge closer bilateral ties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

So far seven Malaysian companies had invested in various economic sectors in south Kalimantan particularly in plantations and coal mining.

Rudy said the provincial government welcomed foreign investors to complement the Federal Government's pro-business, pro-growth and pro-employment policy.

He said that more than 80 per cent of the province were accessible by road while the power supply woes are being earnestly addressed by the government.

South Kalimantan recorded 5.6 per cent economic growth last year, surpassing the 4.3 per cent national growth. The province's poverty rate is 5.13 per cent, second lowest in the entire Kalimantan province after East Kalimantan.

Asked on Indonesians working in Malaysia's plantation sector, Rudy said that probably the wages in south Kalimantan were higher than what they received in Sabah.

"Many Indonesians now realise that it's better to work in the own country as the salary is more or less the same or if not better and furthermore they don't need to pay the foreign workers' levy," he said.

Nevertheless, thousands of Indonesians were still working in Malaysia, he added.