Southeast Asia

The Haze: And the Flames Went Higher?

A few weeks ago the infamous haze plaguing Southeast Asia lifted. The question is whether the haze this year was as bad as the big one in 2015.

Intriguingly, while the overall count of fire alerts in 2019 is lower compared to 2015, observers have remarked on the higher intensity in some areas. Fires have also been appearing in different locations this year, surprising many planters. 

Global Forest Watch reported that 43% of fire alerts between June 2019 and late September 2019 for Indonesia were recorded on peatlands.

Looking at the Kalimantan region, the MODIS alerts (high intensity fires relate to high or 95% confidence (red points), are on peatlands (black shaded areas), particularly in the southern areas.

There are large oil palm and mills zones and areas are affected by alerts. So far Indonesia authorities have a fire law enforcement list of 10.000 hectares, Indonesia wide.

Many fire alerts are also happening outside concession areas and on designated protected lands of Kalimantan (green shaded areas), which is also a great cause for concern.

#Haze #Haze2019 #SoutheastAsia #Indonesia #Kalimantan 

(c) Khor Reports - Segi Enam Advisors Pte Ltd. 2019. All rights reserved.

Foreign Workers in Malaysia: Case Study of Oil Palm in Johor and Sabah

Foreign Workers in Malaysia: Case Study of Oil Palm in Johor and Sabah

The spatial distribution of foreign workers in Malaysia is a topic that has not been well studied. Khor Reports fill the knowledge gap with a preliminary review of the district-level data for the entire country. We analyse the foreign worker ratio in each district and an oil palm zone case study for Johor and Sabah offer new insights. 

Malaysia's Structural Reliance on Foreign Labour: A Data Report (Khor Reports)

We've released a new data report on our analysis of Malaysia's structural reliance on foreign labour. To access the full data report, sign up for our newsletter in the form below to receive your exclusive password to the report! The report is accessible at this link. Malaysia's Structural Reliance on Foreign Labour (Khor Reports)

A preview of the report

A preview of the report


We analysed some interesting data on foreign labour in each Malaysian state and district from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) - using data on citizen and non-citizens - and found some surprising results. Sabah's share of foreign labour was the highest in the country, at approximately 37%, followed by Selangor at 11%. 

Non-Citizens and Citizens (2016) by State

(c) 2018 Khor Reports - Segi Enam Advisors Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

#Labour #MigrantWorkers #PalmOil #Sustainability #RSPO #Johor #Sabah #Malaysia #SoutheastAsia #KhorReports

To access the full report and to receive more insights and exclusive access to future reports, sign-up for our newsletter!

The full data report is accessible at this link. Malaysia's Structural Reliance on Foreign Labour (Khor Reports)

Subscribe to our newsletter to access this report and receive access to more exclusive content!