Gov't mulls buying Chinese jets if EU sticks with palm oil ban
If the European Union (EU) persists with its ban on palm biofuels, Putrajaya may be forced to buy fighter jets and planes from China, Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned today.
The premier said palm oil had been banned by the EU because it is much cheaper than the soy-based oil produced in EU member countries...
If the European Union (EU) persists with its ban on palm biofuels, Putrajaya may be forced to buy fighter jets and planes from China, Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned today.
The premier said palm oil had been banned by the EU because it is much cheaper than the soy-based oil produced in EU member countries.
He was speaking at the launch of the government's "Love MY Palm Oil" campaign in Pulau Carey today.
Mahathir said such a ban was unfair to Malaysia, and that the country should fight back and win the alleged war launched against palm oil.
"If we have to buy fighter jets, we will have to buy from China, I think they do not lack in technology," he said when officiating the campaign at Pulau Carey.
"We will do this because they (the EU) had unfairly prohibited the entry of palm oil."
When asked to elaborate later in a press conference, Mahathir appeared to be open to other options too.
"We don't need very sophisticated airplanes, we just need some small Cessna things (aircrafts)," he said.
Mahathir had previously threatened to retaliate if the EU goes ahead with its measures against palm oil.
The prime minister raised the possibility of buying Chinese fighter jets and planes today after witnessing how the planes performed in an aerobatic show he attended during his recent three-day visit to Pakistan.
'Unsympathetic' EU
In his speech earlier, Mahathir said European countries had not protested when the British cleared the forest in Malaysia to grow oil palms and rubber trees.
The EU now complained about deforestation and how it led to wildlife losing their habitat and how aborigines are impacted, he said.
These countries have no sympathy for the 600,000 people who may lose their livelihood if the oil palm estates shut down, he added.
"They want to save these animals by sacrificing the people," Mahathir said, further claiming that the EU cared less about people's need for houses and the need for city expansion.
He then said that half of the land in Malaysia is reserved as forest.
"Where are their (European) forests? Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest was a hero, but where is Sherwood Forest now? It is gone," he quipped.
Checks by Malaysiakini with official UK tourism websites show that Sherwood Forest still exists, albeit as a more "fragmented" version compared to when it was first established as a royal hunting preserve in the 10th century.
The UK is also in the midst of a protracted departure from the EU.
Mahathir said that the EU spoke up against deforestation because it wanted less-developed countries to keep their forests in order to produce oxygen.
However, he said, plants like rubber trees and oil palms could provide oxygen too, just like other species.
The European Parliament is in the process of banning the use of palm oil for biofuel, while Iceland, one of UK's largest supermarket retailers, has stopped using palm oil in its own-brand products.
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