A forum entitled “Push to Adopt MSPO Sustainability Standards in Malaysia” was held on the 17^th of August, 2017 at the Agriculture Hall, Faculty of Agriculture, UPM. This forum was jointly organised by Institute of Plantation Studies (IKP) and Faculty of Agriculture, UPM in collaboration with Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC). It was attended by more than 100 participants from various government agencies and oil palm industry members including RISDA, Felda Global Ventures, Kulim Berhad, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Palm Oil Association and the Department of Standards and there were also good representation of academicians and students from local universities. The Forum begun with a welcoming remarks by Prof. Datin Dr. Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah the Director of IKP and an officiation address by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ir. Renuganth Varatharajoo, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Industry and Community Relation, UPM. Then, the speaker, Dr. Sanath Kumaran shared the insights on MSPO certification for about an hour.

Dr. Sanath stressed on the importance of addressing sustainability issues especially on de-forestration and carbon emission for ensuring success in trade especially involving the world market. Although Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been around for a while, Malaysia has succeeded in developing its own Malaysian Standards (MSPO) for implementation. Such a development is critical for the Malaysian oil palm industry to remain competitive and relevant for the future in the edible oil market. He stressed that there are many hurdles that needs to be surmounted for ensuring successful adoption of MSPO. As such engagement with the different stakeholders are crucial as the implementation requires dissemination of the correct information about the MSPO criteria, ways to adopt the correct sustainable practices for obtaining the certification, and the long term benefits of MSPO. Furthermore, successful implementation needs to take careful considerations about the concerns of the different sectors involved. He also raised on the needs of academic experts to be involved in studying the impact of MSPO on farmers livelihood, the environment and international trade. During the panel discussion which was moderated by Prof. Datuk Dr. Mad Nasir Shamsudin, various questions were raised by the participants and the answers given by Dr. Sanath helped to make clear some pertinent issues on MSPO criteria and adoption. Some new ideas on implementation were also shared. The event was ended with lunch served around 1 pm.

Date of Input: 18/09/2017 | Updated: 19/09/2017 | ainzubaidah