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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia has succeeded, through scientific findings, in countering Western criticism of palm oil by increasing exports, especially to China and India.
He added that RM63 million has been allocated to intensify the campaign against anti-palm oil narratives and encourage sustainability certification, including among private smallholders.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said that in order to reduce reliance on foreign labor and encourage local innovation, RM20 million has been provided to support startups producing mechanization and automation products in partnership with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and major palm oil companies.
Presenting Budget 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat, he said the government is also protecting the livelihoods of smallholders working on plantations by allocating nearly RM120 million.
This includes supporting part of the cost of oil palm replanting for smallholders to replace ageing trees, encouraging rubber smallholders to produce rubber and redevelop abandoned private rubber farms, and providing cocoa smallholders with 1.1 million high-quality cocoa seedlings, including training support from industry players.
The allocation also aims to ease the burden on pepper smallholders caused by rising input costs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and to support kenaf smallholders in increasing crop productivity as one of the new sources of growth in the agri-commodity sector.