BY HARUN JAU & NATASHA JEE
KUCHING: Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is facing financial constraints, but ready help comes from the state government.
According to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, the contribution from the state government means MPOB has research fund with which to hire more scientists from around the world to support the country’s palm oil in terms of its acceptance in the international market as a nutritional product.
“This shows that the state government is committed to assist… and to combat the negative campaign against our oil palm, and this has been reported to the Minister (Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok) by the Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg) just now,” Uggah told a press conference after Kok’s courtesy call on Johari at the new DUN Complex here yesterday.
Earlier, Kok said, “We would like to thank Sarawak State Government and Sarawak’s Chief Minister for contributing to the research fund of MPOB.”
According Kok, MPOB is under “some kind of financial shortage” due to the low palm oil price.
“So we appreciate very much the contribution from the Sarawak State Government to the research fund of MPOB,” she said.
Kok described her meeting with Johari and his two deputies, Uggah and Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, as “very fruitful”.
“Basically, we want to discuss the issue of MSPO Certification and also issues related to the timber industry in Sarawak.
Uggah said Sarawak was committed to ensuring that its oil palm smallholders would get their MSPO Certification.
“We have agreed to form a collaboration with MPOB to make sure all the smallholders will get the certification by end of 2019,” he said, adding there are some issues that have to be resolved.
He also said the Chief Minister had announced in the DUN that he would not issue any more provisional list for the planting of oil palm in the state land.
“That is the stand of the state government, that we will not expand the oil palm plantation in state land.
“Now we have about 1.5 million hectares, we had expected it to reach two million hectares. But the commitment has already been made by the Chief Minister that he will not issue any more provisional lease (PL),” he said.