Malaysia: palm oil critics keep shifting goalposts, says deputy minister

Palm oil critics constantly shift the goalposts that has resulted in palm oil producers being unable to comply with regulations, says Datuk Willie Mongin (pic)

The Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said the ministry has conducted numerous efforts to not only deny baseless accusations from outsiders but also to conduct engagement and explanation sessions with people in and outside the country.

“We need to remember the problems affecting palm oil is not that we are producing low-quality palm oil products. Let me explain the chronology (of the problem).

“Once we were accused of producing unhealthy crude palm oil and cooking palm oil. We then engaged with experts to do the studies and it was proven that our palm oil is healthy.

“When we were able to prove that our palm oil is healthy, they changed it to unsustainable forest usage. When we address this with the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, they accuse us of using forced labour and children.

“The goal post keeps changing and there is no way that we can actually comply because when we comply with this, they change it to another thing. This is a commercial pressure. To me, it is very much a commercial driven attention to deprive us,” he said when replying to a question raised by Nor Azrina Surip (PH – Merbok) in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 22).

Nor Azrina had asked about the government’s proactive strategy in combating anti-palm oil campaigns.

Willie said that the best defence that they have was to address this head-on.

“We don’t want to refute them anymore. We have to tell the truth. Everyone must play their role to help us, to defend the country’s palm oil industry,” he said.

On a question raised by Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN – Pontian) about the government’s efforts in tackling the high price of pesticides and fertilisers as palm oil smallholders were unable to enjoy the profits due to their rising costs, Willie proposed for there to be a body set up to oversee the pesticides and fertiliser issues in the country.

“The price of pesticides and fertilisers cannot be controlled as it is a global problem. It is happening not just in our country but in others as well. Our country only produces urea,” he said.

Willie said that the rising logistics cost, raw materials and the impact of foreign exchange had contributed to higher import costs.

“We do not have the mechanism to control this. It is time for there to be a body to oversee fertilisers and pesticides. In our country, neither the ministry nor Mafi (Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry) looks into this.

“If there is a body that oversees fertilisers and pesticides, they can discuss with raw material producing countries for fertilisers. Then it can be a government-to-government negotiation and we can get a better price and deal from all the fertiliser manufacturers,” he said, adding that this cannot be done solely by the ministry but needed comprehensive support from all in the government and senior leadership to look at the issue comprehensively.

The Star

Tags: costs, импорт, Malaysia, palm oil, logistics, Pesticides, fertilisers