Come To Malaysia And Be Informed About Palm Oil

KUALA LIPIS, (Pahang, Malaysia) Jan 11 (Bernama) -- The Primary Industries Ministry is prepared to invite the authors of the one-sided and biased report on palm oil-based products published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to travel to Malaysia for a dialogue. Its Minister, Teresa Kok Suh Sim said this ought to be done as representatives from WHO should meet local researchers and scientists who have done extensive research on palm oil-based products in order to obtain a clearer picture on the research findings. “The WHO researchers who published the report don’t have the complete picture on palm oil (products). They should have discussions with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s nutritionists and also with local universities. “I feel that many Westerners – medical experts, environmentalist or politicians – like to criticise palm oil because they have been given one side of the story and many of them have not visited and are unaware of the conditions in Southeast Asia,” she told reporters after the “Love MY Palm Oil” cooking programme and health forum near here Thursday. Also present at the event was Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chief executive officer Dr Kalyana Sundram. Teresa said the WHO report was irresponsible and unprofessional as it damaged the image and reputation of palm oil without taking into account research done by other authorities. Kok said there were numerous research done that proved palm oil was healthy compared with other types of non-palm oil based cooking oils. “To me, this is a tactic to discredit palm oil's image and quality and support the European Union in its campaign to halt the entry of palm oil into their markets,” she said. Kok also called on Malaysian scientists and researchers to come out and defend the oil palm industry through their testimonials and research findings. "We have many people who have conducted research and they should collaborate with the ministry to raise awareness on the benefits of palm oil,” she said. Kok also attended a health forum conducted by Dr Azman Ismail, who is also the Member of Parliament for Kuala Kedah, and participated in a cooking demonstration to make doughnuts using palm oil-based cooking oil. Earlier Thursday, MPOC lambasted WHO for alleging that the oil palm industry employed similar tactics as the tobacco and alcohol industry to influence research on the health benefits of palm oil products. -- BERNAMA