Don’t sabotage, minister tells international schools after students’ anti-palm oil concert

Students speak of deforestration during a concert at an international school in Kuala Lumpur, as seen in a video clip shared on social media.

KUALA LUMPUR: Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok has accused international schools of not supporting the government’s efforts to counter the anti-palm oil lobby, following a viral video clip showing students taking turns to speak out against the palm oil industry during a school concert.

“We are a palm oil-producing country. They must understand and not sabotage further,” Kok, whose ministry has been at the forefront of efforts to counter an international campaign against the commodity, told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

She said several international schools did not allow her officers to give talks on the benefit of palm oil.

“International schools are very unresponsive. They have preconceived ideas about palm oil,” she said.

Kok was responding to a video clip shared on social media, showing students at an international school doing a presentation on the environmental damage caused by oil palm plantations.

“Now they openly do these performances in the school, spreading anti-palm oil messages among our Malaysian children,” she said.

Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

Kok said she is prepared to explain the benefits of palm oil and the steps taken by industry players towards achieving sustainable palm oil to the schools involved.

She accused the international school involved of allowing it to be used as a platform to spread false information about Malaysia’s palm oil industry.

“They are doing a disservice to the country,” she added. - FMT