Deputy Minister Accuses Palm Oil Critics Of Shifting Goal Post

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PARLIAMENT | Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Willie Mongin has accused critics of the country’s palm oil sector of "shifting the goal post" and making it impossible for stakeholders to comply with export regulations.
He said the ministry had over the years carried out various initiatives to deflect criticisms from the US and European Union (EU) but new issues kept on emerging, the latest being claims of forced labour used to impose export sanctions against Malaysian palm oil.
"At one point we were accused of producing unhealthy palm oil, so we engaged all the experts and it’s proven that our palm oil is healthy.
"When we managed to prove that our palm oil is healthy, they changed the claim to unsustainable forest use. And when we introduced the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, now they accused us of using forced labour and child labour," Willie told the Dewan Rakyat this morning during question time.
"So the goalpost keeps changing and in no way can we actually comply because when we comply to this, they then change to that.
"To me, it (the attacks) is very much a commercial intention to deprive us," said the Puncak Borneo MP in response to a supplementary question from Nor Azrina Surip (Pakatan Harapan-Merbok).
Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Willie MonginAzrina had inquired about proactive measures by the government to counter anti-palm oil sentiments but Willie said reactive measures are still necessary given the nature of attacks.
"Our best defence is we have to attack them. We don't want to just deny anymore.
"We need to tell the truth. And everybody has to play a role to help us defend our palm oil industry," said Willie.
US CBP ban
Last week, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin had expressed readiness to personally engage with the United States Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) over allegations of forced labour made against palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation.
The US CBP had since December 2020, banned the import of palm oil products from Sime Darby based on information that reasonably indicated the presence of all 11 of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) forced labour indicators in its production process.
Malaysia yesterday became the 58th country in the world and second Asean member state to ratify the ILO's Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
This follows Human Resources Minister M Saravanan depositing the instrument of ratification with ILO director-general Guy Ryder during a function in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday. - Mkini

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