While keeping a lid on its biggest clients, Sime Darby Oils Sdn Bhd managing director Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad said the customers have given the company ample time to resolve the issue with the condition to keep them apprised.

“They did not make a blanket decision to ban products by SDP, for me, it is a big relief,” he told local business radio station BFM this morning.

Sime Darby Oils is the downstream business arm of SDP, which has been slapped with an import ban by the US Customs and Border Protection from Dec 30 over allegations of forced labour made by a Hong Kong-based anti-trafficking group in April last year.

Haris said SDP has been striving to address the issue, although no updates were provided by the CBP about the group’s findings.

“We don’t know what the allegations are. We have reached out but nothing specific has come out,” he said.

He emphasised that SDP remained concerned over the issue as it is a serious allegation that touches human rights abuses.

“If the abuses are happening in SDP, we will take action because the people who have been abused are at risk,” he said, adding that he wants to ensure the issue does not escalate and cause reputational damage to the company on the global front.

“If we do not address this issue, it may lead to a wider industrial problem, and we cannot afford that.”