18/06/2015 (Bernama) - Sabah would become a pioneer and global leader should the state government goes ahead with a proposal to produce solely Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) in the next 10 years.

Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) executive director, Cynthia Ong, said this was the ideal way forward to show to the world that it was possible to produce palm oil in a legal, ecologically-sustainable and socially-beneficial manner.

"This is the direction that we must head towards. We have received feedback of international support for jurisdictional or state-wide certification following the recent announcement by the government.

"We must take steps to remain relevant in a world that is demanding transparency and accountability in the production of edible oils, especially palm oil.

"With an estimated 12 per cent of global palm oil currently coming from Sabah, we are the biggest player of what is produced legally at a single jurisdictional level," she said in a statement here today on behalf of the Malaysian Palm Oil NGO Coalition.

Ong said this in reaction to a recent statement that Sabah was considering the possibility of producing only CSPO by 2025.

She said smallholders and independent farmers would benefit from the certification.