What are the simple, favourite everyday foods closest to the hearts of Malaysians? Roti canai, nasi lemak, teh tarik, instant noodles and biscuits? And where can we enjoy it? Roadside food stalls, warung makan, kopitiam or right in the comfort of your own home! I bet you had it all figured out. Good.

Yup, Malaysia is known for its food diversity, together with its language, religious and cultural diversity. We are proud of such an assortment of makan-minum delights that bonds people from all walks of life. And when you take a sip of teh tarik and a suap of nasi lemak, you taste Malaysia! Why? Because they are affectionately regarded as our national drink and dish.

Mind you, there is another Malaysian product deserving such shout-outs too. It’s present in our everyday life, from kitchen to bathroom, knowingly and unknowingly. Cooking oil, margarine, snacks, soap, shampoo or detergent, it’s everywhere. Try going a day without it and see how it affects your life.

Sure thing, it’s our palm oil, the most widely consumed vegetable oil on earth. It’s our golden crop that has been enriching the lives of millions of people on every continent. Through modern cultivation and extensive product innovation, Malaysia’s oil palm industry has certainly come a long way, making it the envy of its rival crops such as rapeseed and soybean.

In order to promote our palm oil, we must know the product well in the first place. Do it the basic yet practical way – knowing the product as best as can be! The more we know about our palm oil, the easier it is for us to stand our ground against malicious propaganda where hard scientific facts prevail over squashy myths, eventually.

“Educating our own people on the benefits of palm oil is one of the strategies Malaysia has taken in its fight against Western anti-palm oil campaigns,” said Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, urging Malaysians to arm themselves with well-informed knowledge to quash unsubstantiated claims.

It always starts with awareness, just as the saying goes. And the year-long Love MY Palm Oil campaign, a collaboration between the ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), is reaching out to all Malaysians to uplift the reputation of our palm oil.

“Generally speaking, many are not aware of the socioeconomic importance and nutritional value of palm oil, besides it being more environment-friendly compared with other competing oils.”

“This is evident by the misconception among many Malaysians who are taken in by the aggressive anti-palm oil campaigns, and we also regret that some local businesses are found to be selling imported ‘no palm oil’ labelled products.”

“We need to educate them that the palm oil industry is more efficient with yield up to 10 times higher than other oils per hectare planted, thus utilising less land,” she elaborated, highlighting that palm oil and palm-based products are the country’s fifth major export product, generating RM62.7bil in export earnings last year.

The minister is clearly aware of how people are making fun of her for the spoonful red palm oil inspired youthful looks wisecrack. She nevertheless appears to be unruffled, turning all those mocking comments into her advantage.

“In fact, the more they make fun of me, the more they learn about palm oil in the process,” Kok chuckled to herself.

“But today, I have learned all the benefits of this versatile crop and I am calling all (members of our) society to stand up and improve our product knowledge so that as a society, we can stand up together to promote our palm oil,” she spurred us on.

“Imagine going to Japan and Korea and telling the locals not to eat wasabi and ginseng, they will answer you back with all the benefits of their products, because they know their products well,” Kok rooted a common sense.

One thing for sure, palm oil is ingrained in our everyday life, directly or indirectly. The crop that energises the livelihoods of over 650,000 smallholders and many other stakeholders, is indeed the pride of the nation.

And the potential of this dynamic crop is ever increasing - “Palm oil’s versatile composition will play a positive health role in designing fats for the future,” said MPOC CEO Datuk Dr Kalyana Sundram, who boasts over 35 years of research experiences in the health and nutrition of fats, fatty acids acids and their minor constituents, being a fellow of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia and member of several international professional associations.