Spoonful of palm oil campaign for awareness, not to boost sales - Kok

TG PIAI POLLS | On the BN ceramah circuit, like any political talk, there are a few staple points or jokes that will be repeated time and again.

One staple since January, is to poke fun at Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok and her call for Malaysians to drink a spoonful of red palm oil today.

The joke would mainly go that even if all Malaysians drink a spoonful a day, this would barely make an economic impact, and thus the government should set an example by drinking an entire bottle of palm oil a day.

At a dialogue with oil palm smallholders in Pekan Nanas today, an individual named Abdullah Ahmad Wahab took this one step further and suggested Kok and other ministers drink one bottle of palm oil three times a day, to a round of applause from the 250 people in attendance.

In her reply, Kok shot back and said that Malaysian palm oil has many health benefits.

"Many people don't know that the palm oil that we produce is very nutritious," she told the crowd, saying it was rich in vitamin E, beta-carotene and other nutrients.

Kok also clarified that the call to drink palm oil was actually started by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had told China if everyone in that country drank a spoonful of palm oil a day, Malaysia would be out of palm oil.

At a press conference later, she further clarified that the Sayangi Sawitku campaign is meant to increase awareness, not to boost domestic demand.

"It is mainly meant for knowledge, awareness," Kok said, adding that this was needed to combat negative perception about palm oil.

Issues involving oil palm smallholders are focal points in the Tanjung Piai by-election campaign.

The biggest issue, is the price smallholders get for the raw oil palm fruits.

Kok said that crude palm oil prices are on the increase and should translate to higher earnings for smallholders.

However, she admitted that there might be profiteering or exploitation by intermediaries and processing factories.

As such, Kok told the smallholders present to form a cooperative with the help of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

"Cut out the intermediary to earn more," she added.

Kok reiterated her call that oil palm growers also plant alternative crops so that they have a diversified source of income that is more resistant to drops in palm oil prices.

Speaking to Malaysiakini after the event, Md Amin Morsi - who had complained to Kok about smallholders not seeing an increase in profits equivalent to the rise in CPO prices - said the minister's proposals were doable.

"It would be good if there was a cooperative, but it must not just be for the gain of certain people, must not have biases," he said.

Meanwhile, when asked about Bersatu candidate Karmaine Sardini saying oil palm prices were RM270 per tonne, Kok off-handedly told the press that "he had not sold oil palm for a while".

For the record, Karmaine had said he received complaints that oil palm prices were at RM270.

He said villagers should be grateful for this as there is not much to spend on in villages.

Karmaine has since clarified that what he meant was to be grateful in the Islamic sense, in that Muslims should be thankful for whatever fortunes they are bestowed by God. - Mkini