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The participants (front row) with Godfery (standing, third left), Eddie (fourth left) and other guests.
KOTA KINABALU (Oct 21): Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited (Repsol Malaysia) launched a new social investment programme in Sabah on Thursday in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries Sabah (DOFS) to develop and sponsor seven participants from the B40 category at Kampung Lentuong in Tuaran for an oyster farming programme.
The collaboration will witness Repsol sponsoring the costs of purchasing farm materials, participants’ farm wear and tools as well as finance the launching and closing ceremonies to a total sum of RM106,000.
DOFS will offer each participant a two-acre farming lot each in the oyster-rich Mengkabong bay fronting Kampung Lentuong here where they will be taught theory and hands-on skills on oyster farming method, technical advices and systematic harvesting and marketing inputs.
Director of Fisheries, Godfery Kissey, speaking at the launching ceremony on Thursday said that his department was committed in uplifting the economic standing of the B40 community and he thanked Repsol for joining hands in the effort through the latter’s corporate social responsibility programme.
“We welcome the help from the other parties such as this one from Repsol so that these B40 targeted groups can also enjoy the benefits of development which is espoused by the government,” he added.
He really hoped that this oyster farming project would place the participants on a good footing to become capable and competitive agropreneurs so as to earn a substantive income for themselves.
Godfery pointed out that this Repsol-sponsored oyster farming project at the Mengkabong Bay was in line with the Fisheries Department’s desire to target and develop the bay into a primary oyster production hub in Sabah and Malaysia in general.
According to Godfery further, a total of 109.3 metric tonnes (MT) were harvested in 2020 at a value of RM546,520 in Sabah from which 108.3 MT was from Tuaran district, involving 166 producers.
Repsol Malaysia’s Senior Manager for Stakeholder Relations, Ahmad Fakhrurrazi Arshad in his speech said they were excited to know that the site of this joint project was located in the oyster hub known for its high quality.
“This announcement strengthens our move to sponsor the participants in this oyster farming project and logically has no reason to fail,” he added optimistically.
In congratulating the seven selected participants, Ahmad advised them to stay committed and be responsible in developing and expanding their enterprise so that this could become a sustainable income for themselves and their families.
Under the memorandum of collaboration (MoC) signed between Repsol and DOFS at the ceremony, the department will conduct induction course and hold engagement sessions and monitor the project for at least 18 months to evaluate the participants’ performance.
The signatories to the MoC were Godfery (Fisheries’ main signatory), witnessed by Azhar Kassim (Fisheries’ deputy director) while Repsol was represented by Ahmad Fakhrurrazi (main signatory) and Datuk Eddie Abdullah (as a witness).
As an incentive to the participants, Repsol is offering cash prizes of RM1,000, RM700 and RM500 to the top three participants at the project’s closure.
Ahmad reiterated that the long-term objective is to create a group of oyster producers who can independently manage a micro enterprise which is enduring and forward driven into the years ahead.
The seven selected participants are Haraney binti Sabli, Norzilah binti Abdullah, Norsila binti Zaini, Korina binti Drah, Mahali bin Marusin, Jainal bin Durahman and Peledin bin Mintoh.
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