The plantation industries and commodities minister’s office said she was merely narrating a story by the Malaysian ambassador in Saudi Arabia over anti-palm oil sentiments.

In a statement, her office said the speech was made in a closed-door event and urged social media users to stop sharing such “distorted content”.

“The orangutan issue was brought up so as to get relevant agencies to further study the habitats and living habits of the species.

“This was so that the findings would then be presented to foreign stakeholders such as the European Union (EU), where strong anti-palm oil lobbyists operate, harming the sector’s long-term interests.”.

Her office criticised “certain parties” for cherry-picking the speech to present a distorted view about the issue.

“We have always maintained Malaysia’s consistent stance of promoting a robust oil palm industry that could co-exist and flourish in a sustainable ecosystem.

“These people are only undermining the plantation industries and commodities ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s (MPOC) efforts to promote palm oil.”

Zuraida was reported to have said at the MPOC’s 2022 seminar and dialogue on Jan 5 that Malaysia still had many orangutans, contrary to the notion that the palm oil industry was killing the primates.

“In Malaysia, if you see an orangutan, it will kill you first, not you kill the orangutan first, correct?” the minister said during her speech.

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