KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the European Union (EU) should focus on recognising the current government’s proactive efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the palm oil industry – in order to align with the EU’s standards – rather than dwelling on past issues.
He highlighted how the government has taken assertive and responsible steps to address issues, such as carbon emissions arising from oil palm plantations with peat soil, successfully resolving these concerns, therefore consigning them to the past.
“It was not something that the government readily took, but the government had taken very aggressive and responsible measures and I think that countries in Europe should show some appreciation and reciprocate,” he said.
“This is not necessarily in terms of financial support, but (they should) at least give recognition and recognise the efforts by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand in this regard, in our desire to continue with the deduction of carbon emissions and so on.”
Anwar said this during the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (Pipoc 2023) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, here today.
He said that while Malaysia agrees with the spirit of the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), Sarawak, for example, had conducted a massive campaign against the carbon emissions from peat soil, but it did not receive any due recognition from the EU.
“It is only reasonable on the part of the EU to recognise this (Sarawak’s efforts) and show some kind of appreciation and to not dig into problems of the past,” he said.
Anwar said Pipoc 2023’s theme, ‘Navigating Uncertainties, Building Resilience’ was apt, as it reflects the concerted efforts by the industry in addressing global challenges, particularly in facing resistance from the EU in the nation’s palm oil industry.
He said he welcomed Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and recently, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s decision to join forces with Malaysia in addressing the EU’s resistance to palm oil products from the three countries.
Anwar also thanked the Netherlands’s Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, who had in his recent visit to Malaysia given assurances that the Netherlands, the largest importer of palm oil in Europe, would show a better understanding and empathy to the concerns of the industry, particularly for countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the government is proposing a possible synergy between big palm oil industry players and smallholders to reduce the income disparity between the two groups.
“This has already started in some of the major companies, and I think they would assist the economic advancement of the country and the welfare of the smallholders.
“I hope that the MPOB and (the Plantation Industries and Commodities) ministry would seriously consider this because totally relying on the smallholders and their capacity would certainly be more difficult due to limitations in terms of research, understanding, and the challenges of the industry generally,” he said.
Anwar said he would even consider increasing the initial RM100 million grant for the Palm Oil Replanting Programme, on condition that major companies have some form of support to smallholders.
“I believe this is important. The Madani economy requires us to advance the welfare of the society at large; we cannot continue to see this gross difference and inequality between the more successful companies and the relatively smaller ones, which are huge in number, and sometimes fall into the lower income bracket,” he added. – November 8, 2023