Interviews

Mavath R. Chandran has been one of the most influential figures in the Malaysian palm oil industry. After graduating, he briefly joined British-owned Harrisons & Crosfield, where his father had been the first Malay plantation manager at a foreign-owned company. Chandran joined Belgium-owned Socfin in 1969, and eventually became head of plantations. After retiring from Socfin, he became chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry Association in 1999. In this interview, Chandran describes in detail the complex historical relationships between typically European managers and local staff, as well as how this relationship evolved over time up until—and even after—the region gained independence from British rule in the late 1950s. He reflects on the historical and ongoing struggle of race relations in Malaysia, between the majority Malay people, and the smaller—but influential—ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities. He describes the transformation of the Malaysian rubber industry as commodity prices collapsed after the Korean War and the invention of synthetic rubber, and the government’ response in developing the palm oil industry. The government, in partnership with many major plantation companies, launched FELDA (the Federal Land Development Authority) to help organize poor, rural famers into smallholders growing cash crops. In the interview, Chandran—who assisted with the development of FELDA schemes while working in the private sector—explains why this program was so important, to both smallholders and private companies alike. Chandran goes on to discuss the wave of Malaysianization that swept the region after the end of European colonialism in the 1970s and 1980s, and the consequences, especially the legacy of increased government-intervention in the economy and the presence of corruption. Chandran concludes the interview by discussing recent developments in the palm oil industry, focusing specifically on how it has responded to increasing concerns about sustainability and environmental responsibility. He discusses how the new standards for sustainable agriculture were negotiated and adopted, and reveals the background to the formation of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil in 2003. Chandran acknowledges that the enforcement of new sustainable growing measures through, what he calls “social audits,” remains challenging.

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