KUALA LUMPUR: The protest by oil palm smallholders yesterday to oppose the European Union’s (EU) effort to ban Malaysian palm oil biofuels is a clear signal to the European Parliament and Council and EU President that Malaysian smallholders are unhappy and upset with the ban.
Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, said the protest underscored our resolve to protect the national interests.
“It is noted that smallholders have come out in large numbers against the EU’s effort to ban palm oil biofuels under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED),” Mah said in a statement yesterday.
The Malaysian Government views the proposed ban as an effort by Europe to impose a “Crop Apartheid” on Malaysia’s 650,000 oil palm smallholders.
Malaysia would take the necessary action in order to protect the rights of more than 3.2 million Malaysians whose livelihoods depended on the oil palm sector, Mah said. The proposed ban would allow competitor oilseed crops to continue operating under the RED, whereas palm oil would be excluded as of 2021.
“This is blatant discrimination and the EU has always stood against discrimination. I call on the EU to stop discriminating against our palm oil sector,” said Mah.
He added it was important to remind the EU counterparts that Malaysian palm oil meets the strictest standards of sustainability required, as Malaysian palm oil biofuels have been certified as sustainable by the leading European sustainability schemes including the German’s International Sustainability and Carbon Certification. — Bernama