KUCHING, July 4: Tradewinds Plantation Berhad (‘Tradewinds’) notes with deep regret the incident where its Indonesian estate worker was allegedly assaulted by locals assisted by hoodlums, in Simunjan recently.
Three motorcycles were set on fire in the incident.
In a press statement today, Tradewinds said news obtained from the local villagers indicated that the hoodlums were not from the area.
The plantation company claimed the hoodlums were engaged by the locals involved in the land dispute.
“Tradewinds further regrets that the incident is also partly caused by the reluctance of the relevant authorities to take concrete action against the locals involved in the incident, despite numerous police reports lodged previously.
“Tradewinds notes that it will not be responsible for the safety of the villagers within the area in the event that the Indonesian workers at the estate retaliate against the locals due to the inaction of the authorities.
“This is because the Indonesian guest workers of Tradewinds, who are earning an honest living in this country, may be provoked into taking action into their own hands upon seeing a fellow countryman being assaulted and no strong preventive and investigative action is being taken by the authorities to resolve the matter,” it said.
Tradewinds claimed there had been continual intrusions by a number of errant villagers, assisted by unknown persons, into the plantation for the purposes of illegal harvesting fresh fruit bunches.
Tradewinds reiterated that it looked forward to enhancing its engagement with the police and the local community to ensure that its’ operation can be carried out safely and smoothly.
The company also declared that it had the sole and lawful authority over the plantation as the issue of the ownership of the estate had been decided in favour of Tradewinds in the Court of Appeal, Malaysia.
Tradewinds further informed that it would not compromise on the security of its estate and safety of its employees and contractors and will not hesitate to report to the police on acts that may endanger the security of its employees. — DayakDaily
