KUALA LUMPUR, 19 November 2020 - Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP) refers to a news article published by the Associated Press (AP) dated 18 November 2020 and reiterates our zero tolerance for any forms of sexual or human rights violations, exploitation or any other criminal offences in our operations and supply chains.

We are committed to strictly abide by our robust governance framework as well as our comprehensive list of policies, guidelines, control measures and procedures, all of which have been put in place to protect the fundamental rights of workers, regardless of gender or ethnicities. The full list is publicly available on our website: www.simedarbyplantation.com

SDP views with serious concerns the allegation in the AP article that relates to our operations. If true, the allegation describes behaviour that is in contravention of national laws, as well as our own policies, procedures and guidelines. SDP has commenced further internal investigations over the allegation and will take all necessary actions, if there is any evidence of unlawful or unethical behaviour, or any breaches of our own policies and guidelines.

Furthermore, we will continue to secure the safety and well-being of the more vulnerable members of our workforce. In the past we have addressed such complaints and allegations as and when they have arisen, with respect and sensitivity, according to the best international standards. We have also ensured that the Gender Committees, which are established in all our estates, are empowered and engaged with our female workforce and that they are enabled to work closely with independent third parties such as non-governmental organisations.

SDP will provide more details on the progress of our investigations into the specific matter raised in the article in due course. In the meantime, we urge any of our employees and stakeholders with any information or details of criminal violations and human rights infringements within our operations or supply chains to come forward and report them directly to us or the authorities, for further investigation. We also encourage our employees and stakeholders to utilise SDP’s independent and toll free Whistleblowing channels, as well as our multilingual ‘Suara Kami’ (Worker’s Voice) Helpline, to facilitate the channelling of any grievances, without fear and in strict confidentiality.