In a statement today, the former primary industries minister said top officials from Zuraida’s ministry already held positions in the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC).

These suggested that the agencies were already “under one roof”.

“MPOB director-general Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir is on the board of trustees of MPOC and MPOCC.

“Ministry secretary-general Ravi Muthayah and the Palm Oil and Sago Industry Development Division officer Chua Choon Hwa are trustees of MPOC and MPOCC respectively, and deputy secretary-general Mad Zaidi Mohd Karli is also a member of the board of MPOB.

“Doesn’t this mean they are already ‘under one roof’?” asked Kok.

She was responding to Zuraida’s suggestion that due to her (Kok’s) lack of proficiency in English, she had misunderstood the minister’s proposal to place MPOB, MPOC and MPOCC “under one roof”.

Zuraida said that this proposal did not mean that the three agencies would be merged, as Kok had suggested.

Kok said that perhaps it was Zuraida who had misunderstood her (Kok’s) earlier statement, which was made in English.

“I now respond to her in Bahasa Malaysia, hopefully then she will understand what I mean when I say that the agencies have long been under one roof,” said Kok.

Zuraida had indicated that her proposal was to place all the three agencies in a single place to ensure better communication between the agencies.

“By synergising them under one roof does not mean the agencies are merging. What we want is for the agencies to work together to become more efficient.

“This way, it will avoid any duplication of work, save time and money.”