The Star Online (29/11/2017) - KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman has called on the European Union (EU) to stop its ongoing campaign against the palm oil industry.

He said it was rather unfortunate that some of the EU member countries had painted a negative image of the industry.

He said those who were against the industry must realise that Malaysia has 680,000 oil palm smallholders, of which 200,000 are from Sabah which is the largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO) in the country.

“A negative campaign or boycott could affect global CPO prices. What is going to happen to these smallholders whose livelihoods depend on oil palm?

“This could mean loss of income for them and their families,” said Musa during a courtesy call by a 14-member EU delegation of ambassadors led EU Head in Malaysia, Maria Costello Fernandez, on Wednesday (Nov 29).

He said the Sabah government had taken steps to ensure the sustainability of the oil palm industry.

“We launched a programme in 2015 to have all crude palm oil produced from Sabah to be Certified Sustainable Palm Oil or CSPO,” he said.

He added that in the endeavour, the Sabah government has the support of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to guide the CSPO process.

“So I sincerely hope that the EU member countries can keep an open mind on this matter.”

Musa said that Sabah has one of the best forest management and environmental conservation practices in this region.

He said the state government had gazetted 26 per cent of its total land mass as Totally Protected Area (TPAs), exceeding the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) target of only 10%.

“We are actually targeting 30 per cent or 2.2 million hectares which we are confident of achieving in the next five years, if not earlier,” he said.

Musa said it must also be noted that Sabah had restored and replanted over 700,000 hectares of forest.

“I must tell you the Sabah story on forest management so you can tell it to your European communities. Concerted efforts with concrete results are being made and this must be made known to the world,” he said.

He said he looked forward to continued cooperation with EU countries in terms of trade, investments, tourism and culture such as the EU film festival due to be launched later in the evening.

Fernandez assured Musa there was no official boycott of the oil palm industry by EU member countries.

She said there was a debate on the issue of oil palm and deforestation.

“We want to reach out to the stakeholders in Malaysia and engage in a dialogue to better understand the industry so we can explain it to the European communities,” she said.

French ambassador Frederick Laplanche said the good work done on forest conservation in Sabah must be acknowledged.

“In this matter, Sabah has been forward looking and deserves our support in the spirit of cooperation,” he said.

Aside from other official duties, the EU delegation are in Sabah to attend the opening of the European Union Film Festival (EUFF), which will showcase a diverse collection of European films.