According to an Associated Press exposé into instances of sexual abuse at oil palm plantations, he was accused of saying, “come sleep with me. I will give you a baby,” to a female employee.

Sime Darby Plantation said it had managed to track down and question two female workers based on details in the AP story, which mirrored that of an April 2019 sexual harassment complaint made to the company that was subsequently withdrawn two months later.

After revisiting the case, the company said one of the women it approached did not want to reopen the matter and denied “offensive statements” were ever made to her.

A second woman identified as the target of harassment denied she had accused her boss of verbal abuse, the company said, adding that neither employee had been coerced or intimidated.

Adeline Amanda Jaiyaseelan, Sime Darby Plantation’s head of employee and industrial relations, said Sime Darby stood ready to provide assistance if the case was further reopened.

Rashyid Redza, head of the firm’s group sustainability, added that “the work we are currently trying to do, basically, is to make sure we have the available channels and grievance mechanisms in place, and that people are aware of it and aren’t afraid to use it.

“Quite a lot of time has been spent trying to raise awareness around these issues.”

Many women are too ashamed to speak out about sexual harassment and abuse, and the AP found that even reported cases were sometimes ignored by companies or dropped by the authorities.

The fear of retribution affects many women working on remote plantations, especially those who are dependent on company-owned housing.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council and the Indonesian Palm Oil Association both said they opposed any form of sexual harassment and took all allegations seriously.

Malaysia and Indonesia produce 85% of the US$65 billion global supply of palm oil, a versatile oil that is found in many items on supermarket shelves.