WHEN it was first started, Putrajaya’s “love my palm oil” campaign was panned for being a childish attempt at countering propaganda against the commodity.

But the criticism was actually a blessing, said the campaign’s mascot and mastermind Teresa Kok, as it gave her an opening to further publicise the programme.

The primary industries minister said she weathered weeks of jokes and insults by netizens to promote the edible oil and her efforts are starting to pay off.

“People had made fun on social media and this gave me the chance to promote the red palm oil which contains Vitamins A and E.

“When I was criticised on social media, I welcomed it because indirectly they helped me garner more public interest on the ‘love my palm oil campaign’.

“This is good because it has got people talking about red palm oil,” she said at a media briefing in Putrajaya.

In January, the campaign was launched to instill national pride and greater appreciation for Malaysian palm oil, by focusing on socio-economic importance and nutritional benefits.

Parts of the campaign had her and her colleagues from the Pakatan Harapan coalition swallowing spoonfuls of red palm oil in public to prove that it was safe and nutritious.

The campaign was also to combat negative views that the oil was unhealthy and to counter the narrative that palm oil was responsible for the destruction of swathes of rain forests.

The government blames a global anti-palm oil campaign for declining demand for the edible oil in Western countries such as the United States and Europe. Besides cooking, the oil is also used in cosmetics, food and biofuels.

Consumers and food companies in these countries are refusing to use palm oil due to the fact that it has caused deforestation in Southeast Asia and Africa. Palm oil companies have also been accused of using forced labour and of taking land from indigenous tribes.

Due to these concerns, the European Union is phasing out palm oil-based biofuels in the region by 2020.

Malaysia and Indonesia consider the EU proposal as discriminatory as it ignores the fact that soy oil, which is also used in biofuels and is planted in North and South America, has also caused deforestation.

Kok said that red palm oil was not well known by a lot of people and said that it is the equivalent to olive oil.

The Seputeh MP said that she only got to know about the nutritious value of red palm oil after she had joined the ministry.

“Businessmen were asking me about it and its benefits. Senators have asked me about it and it was even debated in the Perak state assembly.

“I see this as a positive development because the people are curious and want to know more about it.”

She said that the campaign is to also promote the product internationally.

“Our tour guides should promote the goodness of the red palm oil. When we go to Korea they are promoting their Ginseng and Kimchi. We want to have that kind of affect here.”

“We are also engaging with the tour guide association and MITA and tourism ministry.

“We want information on palm oil to be included tourism brochures and we want them to become our palm oil ambassadors.” – April 27, 2019.