Malaysia should consider exporting ketum leaves to the US, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
Speaking in a podcast programme called “Keluar Sekejap'”, he said ketum is a plant that is indigenous to Malaysia and the resources should not be left to waste.
"I know that ketum is still banned in our country, but my point here aims to solve one problem.
“As we know, there are ketum trees in the northern part of our country, and we also know that some other countries allow ketum to be sold there.
"For example, in the US, ketum or kratom as they call it there, is a US$1 billion (RM4.4 billion) industry.
"So my suggestion Shahril, since ketum is indigenous to Malaysia but we cannot sell and use the plant here, why not export it to the US," Khairy said in the discussion with his co-host, Shahril Sufian Hamdan.
The podcast was aired on Keluar Sekejap's Youtube channel.
Ketum is banned by the Health Ministry as it contains psychoactive alkaloids and has yet to be scientifically proven to be useful as a medicine in Malaysia.
Elaborating further on his suggestion, Khairy said the government can impose tight export control on the whole process, from the cultivation of ketum plants up to its final product being shipped overseas.
For example, he mooted, the government can set up a Ketum Board and assign it as the sole agency that is allowed to buy ketum from smallholders and process the plant.
The police and Customs Department can also be roped in to monitor and prevent the products from getting into the wrong hands.
"So, the smallholders can make a monthly income from selling their ketum plant, maybe RM1,000 or RM2,000 a month.
"This is better compared to them getting arrested by the police for harvesting ketum," Khairy said. - Mkini
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