Kota Kinabalu: EU Ambassador to Malaysia Michalis Rochas agreed there has always been a misconception about palm oil among the EU countries and that it needs to be corrected.
During his stay here, he visited Sawit Kinabalu’s oil palm plantation, among others, where he saw the good work done on environmental conservation by the State Government.
“I have seen it myself and it (conservation efforts) is very commendable. I was thrilled to see for myself an Orang Utan and its baby although only from afar.” he said adding that an air survey also showed many Orang Utan nests atop the trees indicating all is well for the wildlife.
“But, the EU doesn’t know about this yet. We need to go back and give the true impression of the situation in Sabah.
“I will convey this to Brussels (EU headquarters). I want to correct and enhance the view on the oil palm industry in Malaysia.
“Your forest is an asset, a world heritage and that is why we care about it,” he said while praising the State Government for the immense effort to protect Sabah’s forest.
Rochas also offered assistance on biodiversity conservation with EU funding to the State Government as well as improving collaboration between the EU and Sabah through technical support and expertise.
“Malaysia is an important country to EU. About 40 per cent of EU trade is in Malaysia.
“There is much to explore in Sabah,” he said, adding that he looks forward to enhancing partnership in view of the wealth of potential partnerships in trade and conservation efforts.
Rochas had also invited NGOs such as WWF-Malaysia, Blu Hope and Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia to share the status of their projects, all partially or wholly sponsored by the EU.
