The empowerment of the Bidayuh oil palm smallholders: A case study of the Serian District, Sarawak

Empowerment is an impetus for people to improve themselves through an effective exploitation of their growth and authority potentials . The success of empowerment will improve competitiveness and reduce the level of dependence of communities and individuals on state aid. This study examines the role of MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) as an agency of development that is responsible for the empowerment of the Bidayuh rural communities. It adopted a phenomenological approach that focused on understanding and storytelling of 16 Bidayuh smallholders in the District of Serian, Sarawak regarding their empowerment by the MPOB. The study found that the role of MPOB consisted of owning shares in the oil palm plantation, availing of technical assistance, marketing advisory services and expertise, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. This means that the empowerment constructs for the Bidayuh comprised individual empowerment, and technical, communication and marketing aspects of the oil palm enterprise. In conclusion, the MPOB only acted as an agent in the structural empowerment of the Bidayuh community and this structure was controlled by the agency through a top-down mechanism.