Tourist guides can become spokesperson for palm oil

KUALA LUMPUR: Local tourist guides can play an important role in disseminating positive messages to help tourists understand about Malaysian palm oil and related products, said Minister of Primary Industries Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

This is following the partnership between the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association to establish a bilateral cooperation and mutual development to identify and promote the golden crop’s education in the tourism industry.

“Our tourist guides will have special tasks, whereby they will become the spokesperson for our palm oil, to educate the tourists, especially foreigners.

“They can use this platform to explain the wrong perception about our industry...that the crop is killing the orang utan and causing deforestation,” she told reporters after witnessing the signing of the partnership agreement here yesterday.

Kok said the government through its agency, MPOC, would provide training to the tour operators, tourist guides and related practitioners to give accurate information about palm oil.

This effort is also part of the ministry’s ongoing “Love MY Palm Oil” campaign, aimed at instilling pride and greater appreciation of the benefits of Malaysian palm oil.

Meanwhile, MPOC chief executive officer Datuk Dr Kalyana Sundram noted that the campaign was also aimed at creating awareness on palm oil among the locals.

He said about 80 per cent of oil consumption in the country was from palm oil while the remaining 20 per cent came from a mix of corn oil, sunflower oil and olive oil.

“The other oils are significantly higher in terms of price as they are imported, as compared to our palm oil, which is equally beneficial,” he added. — Bernama