AFTER having warned the European Union that Malaysia would retaliate if it continued with its ban on Malaysian palm oil, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that one of the retaliatory measures could be the country switching to China for fighter jets.

“If they (EU) keep on taking action against us (banning our palm oil), we will think of buying airplanes from China or any other country,” he told a press conference after launching the Love our Palm Oil campaign in Ladang East, Sime Darby Plantations, Pulau Carey today.

Also present was Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok and Energy, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar.

Dr Mahathir, however, stressed that he was not “declaring war” on the EU as the country still needed goods from the union. 

Thus, he said, any action to reduce or stop imports from EU countries would not be done in haste but will first take into account its impact on the nation.

The European Parliament is reported to be in the process of banning the use of palm oil for biofuel while the retail networks in Britain and Iceland announced that they will stop using the commodity.

Malaysia is the top producer of palm oil in the world. Malaysia and Indonesia produce almost 90% of the world’s palm oil.

Anti-palm oil lobbyists are claiming that oil palm cultivation is causing deforestation and contributing to the haze problem, when in fact Malaysia practises sustainable oil palm cultivation.

On the same note, Dr Mahathir said the anti-palm oil campaign by European countries would have an impact on Malaysian palm oil exports even though they were not the biggest importers.

– Bernama, March 24, 2019.