MALAYSIA does not plan to  buy fighter jets from China, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in clarifying his remarks yesterday.

He said he was merely suggesting that Malaysia could buy jets from China in retaliation to the  European Union’s proposed ban on palm oil.

“We will also not buy any jets. There are lot of other products we can buy,” he said after a dialogue with the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs), in Universiti Putra Malaysia today.

Asked if he had spoken to the EU on the matter, Dr Mahathir said he had written to it.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir said one of ways Malaysia could retaliate against the EU ban was to buy fighter jets from China. 

Dr Mahathir said he was not “declaring war” on the EU as Malaysia still needed goods from Europe.
 
He said any action to reduce or stop imports from EU countries would not be done in haste but after considering the impact on the country.
 
The European Parliament is reported to be in the process of reducing and then banning the use of palm oil for biofuel while the retail networks in Britain and Iceland have announced that they will stop using the commodity.

Malaysia is the world’s top producer of palm oil. Together with Indonesia, the two produce almost 90% of the world’s palm oil.

Anti-palm oil lobbyists claim oil palm cultivation causes deforestation and contributes to the smoke problem, but Malaysia has made it clear that it practises sustainable planting. – March 25, 2019.