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Local media report taken out of context in misleading posts about crude palm oil tax

Local media report taken out of context in misleading posts about crude palm oil tax

Yahoo21-04-2025
The screenshot of a Facebook post by Malay-language newspaper Utusan Malaysia was shared on X on March 23, with the caption "The new Malaysia gets gifts everyday".
The Utusan Malaysia post reads: "Introduction of special tax on crude palm oil."
The X post includes a link to the newspaper's online report (archived link).
Similar posts about a purported new tax were also shared elsewhere on Facebook.
The claim surfaced as Malaysia experienced a shortage of bottled cooking oil, which authorities attributed to an increase in global crude palm oil prices and the government's price ceiling policy that made it difficult for manufacturers to cover operational costs (archived link).
However, Malaysia has no plans to tax local crude palm oil producers to tackle the shortage -- the posts have taken the Utusan Malaysia Facebook post out of context (archived link).
The original post includes a link to the report, published on March 23, which credits the proposal to the Malaysia National Consumer Foundation (YPNM), a consumer protection NGO (archived link).
"The issue of a shortage of cooking oil supply in the market that continues to plague the people can be tackled through the implementation of a special tax of 100 Malaysian ringgit ($23) for every metric ton of crude palm oil (CPO) to all local producers," reads the report.
"The President of the Malaysia National Consumer Foundation (YPNM), Datuk Dr Mohd Firdaus Abdullah, said Malaysia produces about 20 million metric tonnes of [palm] oil each year and if a 100 ringgit tax is imposed on each metric tonne, the government can earn two billion ringgit a year."
It does not include any responses from Malaysian authorities about the proposal.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance told AFP on April 16 that the government does not have plans to introduce new taxes in the future.
The ministry made a similar announcement in December 2024, stating it would focus on implementing tax measures announced in the 2025 budget (archived link). That statement remains valid, the spokesperson said.
Essential food items were exempted from sales taxes announced in the budget, though the government placed a tax on sugar to combat diabetes in the country (archived link).
As of April 21, 2025, there are no credible reports that the Malaysian government plans to impose taxes on crude palm oil.
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Hong Kong police offer rewards for tips leading to the arrest of 19 overseas activists
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Hong Kong police offer rewards for tips leading to the arrest of 19 overseas activists

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A colonial hangover or a linguistic leg-up? India grapples with the enduring appeal of English

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UNESCO classes nearly 200 Indian languages as endangered, and more than 220 languages in the country have disappeared in the last 50 years, according to the People's Linguistic Survey of India. 'Many languages in India do not get the respect or place they deserve,' said Aloka Kujur, a writer and activist from Jharkhand, whose mother tongue is Kuduk, a tribal language native to the east Indian state. The proliferation of English, Kujur said, cost her community recognition in the country. Kuduk is spoken by just under 2 million people and is in a 'vulnerable' state, according to UNESCO. Kujur said that in Jharkand, indigenous groups 'have an affinity with their language that cannot be broken,' but notices that Kuduk's use in everyday life is slipping away. As India looks toward the future, analysts say the English language's role in the country might not be going anywhere any time soon. 'There is no fear of sidelining English,' Kothari, from Ashoka University, said. 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