KL minister's plan to send orang utans to countries buying palm oil panned

Critics say Malaysian govt should focus on deforestation as the apes are endangered

- Hazlin Hassan

A Malaysian minister's proposal to send orang utans as gifts to countries that buy its palm oil in a bid to show "commitment to biodiversity conservation" has been panned by environmentalists and wildlife groups, who said the government should focus on deforestation.

Instead of shipping the endangered apes to trading partners like India, China and the European Union, the Malaysian government should do more to show its palm oil is produced sustainably, they said.

The "orang utan diplomacy" proposal from Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani comes on the heels of a landmark EU regulation requiring companies selling deforestation-linked goods in Europe to prove that these products are not derived from deforested lands or linked to forest degradation.

"In adopting orang utan diplomacy, we aim to demonstrate Malaysia's unwavering commitment to biodiversity conservation," he said in a post on his X account last week, likening the strategy to China's "panda diplomacy" as a form of soft power.

"It would be a... strategy, where we will gift orangutans to trading partners and foster foreign relations, especially with major importing nations like the European Union, India and China," he said.

Gifting orang utans to countries that buy Malaysia's palm oil is a terrible idea, said conservationists and wildlife experts, adding that palm-oil cultivation has been one of the biggest factors behind the apes' dwindling numbers.

"It's nonsense and the minister knows it," said Ms Michelle Desilets, executive director of Britainbased Orangutan Land Trust.