theSun | MONDAY OCTOBER 12 2009
speak up!
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
Reduce, not
ban plastic
bags
I REFER to “Campaign to ban use
of plastic bags” (Oct 9) and agree
that it is a good idea to reduce the
use of plastic bags. But to ban them
will be detrimental to the economy,
the environment and ourselves.
Plastic bags and food containers
are locally made and to have them
banned will close down factories
and put people out of work. Plastic
bags are not all bad because they
are practical, convenient and clean,
and so they help to keep both the
environment and people healthy.
Another point is that many
items on sale are packed in one
or more layers of plastic of dif-
ferent sizes and thickness. In any
supermarket, 75% of all the stock
on sale is packed in plastic which
is thicker, more resistant, and so is
more dangerous than flimsy plastic
bags which practically disintegrate
after being used a few times.
Shouldn’t the relevant ministry
focus on the increasing number
of manufacturers who pack their
products in sturdy plastic bags
which will take centuries to be
reabsorbed by the earth instead of
targeting small business owners
who make a much less harmful
product?
Supermarkets should charge
customers for the plastic bags they
need to carry their shopping.
Marisa Demori
Ipoh
Rubber regains
its bounce
FOR decades, oil palm
has been this country’s
golden crop. In contrast,
several factors – including
less attractive rates of re-
turn – have caused rubber
to fall out of favour with
plantation companies.
However, three recent
developments suggest
Malaysian policymakers
should stop treating rub- MakingSens
ber as a stepchild.
First, The Nikkei by Tan Siok Choo
says weak demand for
cars and intensifying competition
from low-cost rivals like China
has prompted major Japanese tyre
manufacturers to rethink their
decades-long dependency on petro-
leum-based synthetic rubber and to
take a fresh look at natural rubber.
Bridgestone has launched a new
“half-weight tyre” project that uses
materials other than synthetic rub-
ber. As its name suggests, the project
will reduce the weight of the tyre to
enhance fuel efficiency significantly.
The company is also developing
“bio-rubber” – a plant-based prod-
uct to replace synthetic rubber, The
Nikkei reported.
Similarly, Sumitomo Rubber
Industries hopes to produce com-
mercially viable tyres
without synthetic rub-
ber by 2013. By adding
oxygen, it has created an
“improved natural rub-
ber” with a molecular
structure similar to syn-
thetic rubber, the Nikkei
news report says.
What the Nikkei
news report under-
scores is technological
improvements by major
Japanese tyre makers
coupled with expecta-
tions of higher oil prices are enhanc-
ing natural rubber’s competitiveness
against synthetic rubber.
Second, powered by a strong
economy and Beijing’s policy to
boost sales of small cars, China
looks set to overtake the US as the
world’s largest car market.
According to the China Associa-
tion of Automobile Manufacturers,
car sales rose 82% to 1.14 million
units in August. Although car sales
in the US totalled 1.26 million units
– exceeding the figure for China
– many analysts say these figures
were boosted by Washington’s “cash
for clunkers” programme.
Admittedly, a drop-off in sales is
expected in both countries next year.
But the dismal US economy coupled
with continuing rising unemploy-
ment suggests the decline stateside
could be sharper.
J.D. Power predicts Chinese
consumers will buy more than 11.4
million vehicles annually by 2015
based on one fact: the US has about
820 vehicles for every 1,000 people
while the comparable figure for
China is about 34 vehicles.
Similarly, low car ownership
of about nine vehicles per 1,000
people, sustained economic growth
in the subcontinent and the recent
launch of the Nano highlight the
long-term growth potential for car
sales in India.
Not only is the Nano the cheapest
car in the world – priced at about
US$2,000 (RM6,782) for the standard
version – it is only about three times
that of a low-end scooter. This could
help accelerate the switch from
scooters to cars in India.
Rising car sales in populous and
turbo-charged economies like China
and India underline the fact that de-
mand for cars – and by extension for
tyres and for rubber – will outpace
that in the US and in Europe.
Third, a Reuters news report
says Malaysia risks becoming a net
importer of rubber within a few
years as rubber trees in this country
age and more smallholders shift to
oil palm.
Malaysia’s imports of natural
rubber could rise by 40% to 700,000
tonnes this year and next year, the
Reuters report predicts. Improv-
ing demand amid tight supply has
caused the benchmark Tokyo rub-
ber futures contract to jump by more
than 85% from its December low to
about ¥200 (RM7.56) currently. In
the same period, palm oil futures
have climbed 39%.
11
Despite better prices, small-
holder Zaini Hanafi in Kedah – in
an interview with Reuters – says
his 2 ha plantation is likely to bring
him between RM6,000 and RM8,000
this year. If he replanted his land
with oil palm, he could earn up to
RM40,000.
Also, planting oil palm offers
better returns. Land planted with
oil palm yields 10 tonnes a hectare
annually while the corresponding
figure for rubber is a meagre 1.4
tonnes, the report points out.
In a bid to cut imports, the
Malaysian government recently
imposed a rubber levy of four sen
a kilogramme and says the funds
raised will be used to boost output
of rubber.
However, Aliasak Ambia, presi-
dent of the National Association of
Smallholders says the government
must take more drastic action and
before it is too late, the news agency
reports.
SMR 20 is a top-quality Malay-
sian rubber used to make tyres. But
a shortage of Malaysian SMR 20
could prompt the world’s biggest
tyre-makers – France’s Michelin
and Japan’s Bridgestone – to shift to
other Thai and Indonesian grades, a
regional dealer in Singapore says.
In short, unless Malaysian poli-
cymakers act decisively and quickly,
this country won’t be able to benefit
from the expected surge in demand
for natural rubber.
Opinions expressed in this article
are the personal views of the writer
and should not be attributed to any
organisation she is connected with. A
director of a plantation company that
has switched completely from rubber
to oil palm, she can be contacted at
siokchoo.nsamail@gmail.com