THOUGH a large number of Western cultures have seeped deep into our society and have, in fact, become part and parcel of our daily lives, we cannot let ourselves become slaves to the West.
Yes, many see the West as successful, powerful nations, but in actual fact, we, the Asians are equally capable of achieving all that the West has so far.
While many of us have become greatly accustomed to Western cultures, food and also their way of life, we must stand strong on our own two feet and not be influenced by anyone.
We cannot let Western ways and cultures choke us to the extent that we no longer fight for what is rightfully ours.
One good example here would be how the West is trying to clampdown on nations like Malaysia and Indonesia in terms of our palm oil exports.
Malaysia and Indonesia are the two top palm oil producing nations and this does not seem to go down well with the West who are adamant in pushing their soybean oil products instead.
From media reports, I understand that the West are claiming our palm oil plantations are leading to deforestation and the rampant felling of trees.
As an active environmentalist myself, I have followed these reports and allegations very closely and to date, there have been no clear, documented proof of such claims.
No Western nation can prove what they are claiming against Malaysia and we have taken various conservation efforts to preserve our forests which is also a habitat for many animals, including the orangutan.
Our palm oil plantation techniques have come a long way and using modern technology, there are numerous methods of planting which do not require plantations to cut down any trees anymore.
It is all about maximising potentials from existing plantations and the use of land without the need to sacrifice a single tree.
The use of high-quality fertilisers and modern technology, even drones, have helped our palm oil plantations tremendously.
These Western propogandist are only geared towards one thing, which is to run down our palm oil and promote their soybean oil.
In this respect, I must take my hats off to our Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin for standing her ground against these powerful forces.
She was indeed right to label them as “bullies” because that is what they want to do – they want to twist your arm till you say yes to them and get their way.
We, as Malaysians must stand with Zuraida. Palm oil is our main export and generates millions for our national coffers. We cannot sit down and let the West take this away from under our feet.
Zuraida doing her best
I applaud Zuraida for her no-nonsense attitude and from her statements, we can see she is determined to fight for our palm oil supremacy.
In all reality, there is no destruction of forests and palm oil farmers are certainly not encroaching into any animal habitats.
In fact, I have personally been part of many operations where the Wildlife Department along with local villagers have captured and relocated wild elephants that encroached into palm oil plantations.
This is a normal scenario as these animals often venture in search of food and they are merely captured and relocated. There is no destruction of trees or any harm to animals at all as far as palm oil plantations are concerned.
Zuraida is a bold and firm woman leader and we must stand strong behind her and fight for our rights.
Every local leader should emulate her no-nonsense attitude and stand up without fear or favour for what is ours, and at no point give in to foreign pressures. – July 9, 2022
Zubaidah Mohd Harun is contributor to FocusM.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
