THE Sarawak government will pump in RM5 million into a palm oil research institute after Putrajaya ceases its share of the research funding.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg last night told research scientists at the Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute (Tropi) that the state will now provide the millions of ringgit it needs.

Tropi was once at the forefront in combating the European Union’s campaign against palm oil.

Abang Johari said the state government will provide RM5 million requested by the institute – RM2 million more than the RM3 million the Primary Industries Ministry had funded.

Tropi director Lulie Melling said she was unaware of the reasons for the termination of the allocation even though “we have done so much for the oil palm industry, which has also benefitted MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) and the Ministry of Primary Industries”.

She also said the cut was unwarranted, claiming that “Sarawak had been paying oil palm cess (tax), (which) in 2017 amounted to RM53 million”.

“Yet, our allocation of a mere RM3 million was recently terminated.”

Melling said the institute’s research had been “greatly crippled” by the termination of the budget, just as they had started to run as a “world-class laboratory”.

“We cannot help but feel that this has motives other than our research output.”

In a speech to mark Tropi’s 10th year, Melling also suggested the state government consider placing the institute on the same level as the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) and the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB). – November 22, 2018.