KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Stern action will be taken against retailers, distributors, and importers of products with labels discriminating against palm oil, said Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
He said those found guilty could be fined up to RM250,000 under the Trade Descriptions (Prohibition of Use of Statement, Expression or Indication) (Oil Palm Product and Palm Oil Goods) Regulations 2022.
“After this, we will also inform the Royal Malaysian Customs Department to prevent anyone found carrying products with discriminatory labels against oil palm from entering the country.
“If Customs does not have specific structures, we will use the Act and write a letter to customs to inform them that it cannot be done,” he said during a press conference at Menara Dato Onn today.
Johari added that as the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, Malaysia does not allow anyone in the course of trade, business, or advertising to use any statement which may discriminate against or boycott any of the country’s palm oil products.
“They can sell the product but why do you need to bring a packaging specifically mentioning No Palm Oil?
“Therefore, we take this matter seriously. We want our commodity to be respected like the soy oil, rapeseed oil, and sunflower oil produced by other countries,” he said.
Johari’s warning comes after the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry raided a convenience store in Putrajaya yesterday. The store was suspected of selling food products labelled ‘No Palm Oil’ on the packaging.
The team seized ice cream products with the ‘No Palm Oil’ statement worth RM897.60 for further investigation.
— Bernama
