SD Guthrie denies allegations of links to plantation fires in Indonesia

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SD Guthrie denies fire links

Highlights

SD Guthrie denies any strong evidence linking its operations or employees to plantation fires in Indonesia and reiterates its zero-burning policy since 1985.
Its subsidiary Minamas Plantation deploys more than 1,000 firefighting personnel, using drones and infrared technology to monitor 322,000 hectares at a cost of RM800,000 per month.
From January to September, its internal team extinguished more than 2,400 fires, most of them on community land, while rejecting WALHI's allegations and stating that actions outside its concessions are not evidence of wrongdoing.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Company clarification and monitoring measures

As reported by The Edge Malaysia, SD Guthrie said on Tuesday that allegations against its operations were not supported by credible evidence and did not reflect the facts identified through field inspections. The company also said it found no evidence that its subsidiaries or employees had started fires, although it did not specify the particular report it was responding to.

According to the company, several firms mentioned in public reports as its affiliates are not owned, managed or controlled by it. SD Guthrie also reiterated its zero-burning policy across all operations since 1985, alongside its commitment to "no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation".

When fires are detected within or near its operational boundaries, the group said response measures are activated immediately regardless of the cause of the fire. Its Indonesian subsidiary, Minamas Plantation, has more than 1,000 trained firefighting personnel, supported by drone and infrared monitoring across plantation concession areas and 322,000 hectares of surrounding community land, with maintenance and deployment costs of around RM800,000 per month.

Haze impact and focus on the plantation sector

Toxic haze from major fires still raging in Indonesia has spread across borders, blanketing the airspace over Singapore and several cities in Malaysia. Indonesian authorities have attributed the fires to natural phenomena amid El Niño weather conditions, while downplaying the scale of the disaster.

At the same time, Jakarta-based WALHI, the country's oldest and largest environmental advocacy organisation, named Sime Darby, SD Guthrie's former name, among companies suspected of causing forest and land fires. Between January and September, the group's internal firefighting personnel extinguished more than 2,400 fires, including 2,376 incidents on community land, and the company stressed that action taken outside its concession areas should not be regarded as evidence that the group caused the fires.

In our earlier coverage, we reported that the Dewan Rakyat session was expected to focus on several economic and public policy issues, including the Ministry of Health's measures to address the health effects of haze. The debate also covered air quality monitoring, the issuance of health advisories and protection for vulnerable groups, alongside other issues such as electricity tariffs and data centre investments.

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