KUALA LUMPUR (8 Jan. 2019) – The palm oil industry is facing threats from European countries that are passing laws and regulations to phase out its use. Anti-palm oil campaigns are also aggressively carried out to influence people by painting a bad picture of palm oil.
Unfortunately, many Malaysians are taken in by the propaganda of these parties as many do not know the significance and benefits of palm oil compared with its competing oils. Regretfully, some local supermarkets are even carrying “no palm oil” labelled products.
Thus, the Ministry of Primary Industries’ year-long “Love MY Palm Oil” campaign, which had its soft launch today, aims to correct this situation by increasing awareness among Malaysians on the country’s commodity.
“If we are to fight against the anti-palm oil campaigns that are threatening our people’s livelihood, Malaysians themselves need to know and love our own palm oil.
“Our campaign aims to instil national pride and greater appreciation for our palm oil, focusing on socio-economic, health, nutrition, food and non-food applications,” said Minister Teresa Kok, at the Reach & Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar 2019 and Dialogue organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council where she also conducted the soft launch.
The Minister pointed out that many Malaysians were not aware of the socio-economic importance and nutritional value of palm oil, besides it being more environment-friendly compared with other competing oils.
“There is a need to educate Malaysians with correct information. The palm oil industry is more efficient, with yield ten times more than other oils per hectare planted, thus utilising less land, and uses fewer pesticides and chemicals than other vegetable oil.”
Contrary to misguided notions or popular belief that palm oil is a driver of deforestation, the expansion of oil palm plantations has been sustainably carried out on land designated for economic activities, which does not jeopardise our international pledge to maintain at least 50 percent of our land area as forest cover, she said.
The campaign will involve events, programmes and activities targeted at different stakeholders including industry members, professionals, students, academia and the general public. The industry, organisations, NGOs and individuals are urged to volunteer and join in the campaign’s cause to defend Malaysian palm oil.
At the event, she also presented certificates to students from UPM and HELP University appointed as the first batch of Palm Oil Ambassadors at the varsity level, who will help advocate the right information on palm oil among their peers and communities.