RSPO - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a voluntary standard which provides a framework for the definition of a sustainable palm oil. The crux of the RSPO framework revolves around three key sustainability elements; those are social responsibility, economic development and environmental aspects of the palm industry, which basically ranges from the oil palm plantation, through the processing stages and all the way to the final use. The RSPO was initially formed with the view of guiding the entire industry globally towards an industry that is not only deemed as profitable but also responsible, and hence ensures its competitiveness in the global market, especially in countries where sustainability is vital, such as in Europe where the NGOs have been particularly critical towards palm oil, alleging that it destroys natural forests as well as endangering the orang-utans. The RSPO Principles and Criteria, in its current form, is relatively robust in defining practices that are socially and economically responsible, such as the deterrents of child labour, respecting the rights of indigenous land owners and responsible towards all legal obligations. However, recently with the surge in interest in climate change, the palm industry have been severely criticized for its rampant clearings of tropical rainforest (and its subsequent release of Greenhouse Gases, GHG) in the development of oil palm plantations and hence the RSPO too was/is condemned for not including a sufficiently robust environmental-sustainability criteria to mitigate such GHG-intensive practices. As such, the RSPO has, by the directives of the executive board, commissioned a committee dubbed the GHG Working Group (GHG WG) to further deliberate on this issue so that amendments to the RSPO Principles and Criteria could be made for it to be equally robust from an environmental perspective.

The GHG WG, which is a multi-stakeholder committee, which is composed of representatives from the palm oil producers (MPOA, GAPKI etc), consumers (Neste, Unilever) and relevant technical experts, was tasked to amend the existing RSPO standards so that the GHG-intensive steps currently being practiced are improved to reduce these nasty global warming gasses. I have been keeping myself abreast with the discussions happening in the RSPO GHG WG, as well as attended the recent Palm Oil conference on GHG emissions organized by MPOC, and I am absolutely surprised and frustrated by the quality of arguments being put forth by our so-called technical experts in the industry. I appreciate that a much stricter standard would mean a higher capital investment and operational expenditure for a lot of the smallholders, and the resistance displayed is very much within expectation. However, a scientific and technical argument must never be countered by emotionally driven arguments and lack of professionalism. I was very disappointed to see that even our so-called “associate professor” from a reputable local university made the blunder of being technically “questionable” in his effort of supporting the industry’s “fight” for a lenient standard on behalf of the palm oil producers. The relevant foreign experts on GHG emissions from palm oil industry would present his case, backed-up by scientific data, and our fellow Malaysian experts would counter the arguments emotionally, bordering being unprofessional!

Generally, converting natural forest for the development of oil palm plantation, is commonly practiced in the East, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, and this will contribute significantly to the release of sequestered carbon from the forest (locked in the form of biomass) to the atmosphere in the form of CO2, a typical climate change related gas. And whilst I fully appreciate, without the slightest doubt, that such forest conversions could improve the socio-economic status of the people in remote Sabah and Sarawak, and therefore lifting them off poverty, it is from a GHG perspective still undesirable no matter how much socio-economic improvements it enables. If socio-economic development of our country is deemed more important than the “rich-man’s” GHG standard, then by all means please do convert the forest into oil palm plantations! No one is stopping you especially since RSPO is a VOLUNTARY standard, which means that if you comply, well done, but if you don’t, no one will penalize you! But do not ask the RSPO to certify it as being sustainable. Because it is not. It is scientifically wrong! If RSPO, currently regarded by the larger community as an impartial non-profit organization responsible for the definition and certification of sustainable palm oil, certifies a non-sustainable palm oil as sustainable, then the entire certification scheme will be useless and the credibility of the RSPO will be in question!

The World Is Also Flat in Malaysia

I have read 176 pages of “The World if Flat”, and I absolutely love it. Yes, I have only read a couple of chapters, but I still think that the author, Thomas L. Friedman, is a brilliant writer. The entire book is about how technology and innovation enables companies to work faster, cheaper and more efficiently across borders. Whilst we all have heard of the word globalization in our everyday lives, Friedman dubbed this phenomenal turn of event “A Flat World”, which in a way is ironic given how decades ago scientists argued, some at the expense of their lives, that this world we live in is indeed spherical instead of a flat one as popularly believed by the Church back then.

In this book, Friedman presented his argument that this world is flat by using examples of how major companies in the US are outsourcing work and offshoring plants to Bangalore as a cost-efficient solution to an increasingly competitive economy. Initially, this outsourcing phenomena started with the IT industry, whereby local Bangalore firms were paid, cheaply in the US but competitively in India, to take over the task of re-setting computers in the US for the then so-called impending “Y2K-bug”, which in retrospect were proven to be nothing more than another new year! Having proven to be capable of such task, words began spreading and companies began realizing that these are effective measures of reducing overheads/OPEX (operating expenditures) without compromising output quality. And over the years, many more companies have taken a much bolder step by offshoring plants onto the Indian soil, thereby further enhancing their cost competitiveness. Major companies like IBM, Shell and many more have offices in Bangalore to take advantage of this low cost operating environment, compared to the conventional US/Europe locations. This not only benefitted those Western companies but also the local Indian individuals as they were not only paid competitively in India with much more perks than what they are used to getting, but exposed to the global business model.. What only started off as a 24/7 IT call centre soon evolved into a major industrial hub for the services and manufacturing economy, at a surprisingly fast pace. India as a country has benefitted tremendously from this as their economy began to prosper.

In addition to that, Friedman also argued that Dalian is to Japan what Bangalore has become to the US and other English speaking countries, mainly because the people of Dalian (a port city in China) speaks perfect Japanese. At this point, it got me thinking, what made Dalian and Bangalore an attractive location for major companies to outsource or offshore to is the fact that they have sufficient local talent, who could perform a task cheaply and most importantly speak the same language that these companies speak in.

Now, Malaysia as a country would obviously benefit a lot from such investments. Ideally we should aspire to be the outsourcer instead of the outsourcee, if there is such a word. But realistically, we are a developing nation and our companies are not in a major multinational position to outsource/offshore. However, even if we do have a Malaysian-based large international company (I suppose Petronas and Proton could fall under this category) the country would benefit more if these companies were to keep the work in-house but still providing for the international market in order to generate the local economy. So, because we are still developing we should do all we can to be the most attractive location amongst other developing nation so that we are the preferred outsourcee.

To be an excellent outsourcee, we need to make sure our graduates are sufficiently competent, and this is achievable by improving our education system, not just tertiary education, but also our primary and secondary schools as they form the basis of university education. Secondly, we have to be relatively cheap, which comparatively we are. And finally, our talents must speak fluently in the language of the market that we cater our talents for. So if we aspire to provide services to the Japanese, then our graduates will have to be able to speak Japanese fluently. If we are targeting the US and Europe, then English should be the language our graduates are taught to speak in. And I think that our graduates should be taught to communicate in English, instead of Japanese or German etc, simply because it increases our chances of becoming an outsourcee given the relevance of English globally. It’s a simple law of probability..the more opportunities you open yourselves to, the more chances of you striking a hit! But I guess now that we have gone back to teaching Math and Science in Malay is an indication that we are hoping to serve the Indonesian market ? Unless those fellow ministers in the cabinet foresees Indonesia turning into a developed nation in the near future and becoming a major outsourcer, then unfortunately I see a bleak future looming ahead!

A parting word of advice, read this book!

Potong Saga

I received this link from a colleague.

The video clip attached below is a laugh-out-loud film about a Chinese boy’s misguided attempts at opening an Islamic bank account. Its quite hilarious.

There are a few more clips that you can watch at the following website:

http://15malaysia.com/

When in Rome, do as the Africans do...

(source:http://malaysiana.pnm.my/01/01pgenln_adatresam.htm)

I see Malaysia/fellow Malaysians moving into a characterless future, all on the pretext of “modernization”. Sadly a lot of the time, modernization is westernization. Nothing wrong with wanting to be westernized. But I don’t see anything wrong with still wanting to be Malaysian/Eastern, and yet modern. Why is it when we say modern, it immediately means western. I have heard of arguments from many people about how we Malaysians are very conservative, “mundur”, “kampung” and backwards, and it always, more often than not, refers to our un-westernized characters, attitudes, and way of life. We feel the need regulate certain aspects of our way of life… but when we oppose such ideas, oftentimes the arguments put forth is based on what is being done in the West, which is seen as the ideals of many, or the absolute definition of a modern society. We change the way we behave, the way we talk and the way we dress, just so we are seen as “modern”. We look to the West, we look to other countries to help us decide what the best course of action is. We define humanity, human rights, legal rights and all other rights based on what is done in the West. Nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with wanting to learn from the experiences of other countries, but not all that is done in the West is the gospel way of doing things. They have done many mistakes too, after all they are humans, just like we are. Not everything that works in the West, would work well here. We have different values, background and history that defines who we are. Why change that in the name of modernity. Losing something so precious that took decades to be established..

People look up to the Westerns. The views of white layperson is always much more appreciated than the views of an expert Asian. Why is it that dating a Western chic/boy is more glamorous than dating a fellow Asian. Why is it that when fellow Asians travel to the West, they lose their identity? It is as if we, Asians, are ashamed of our origins. Is pretending to be Westernized (okay, Modern in your dictionary!) better than being who you are, the real you? Pretend for too long, and we would eventually lose our identity. We would all be modern-wannabes.

But what is “modern”? My not so proficient vocabulary says that it is something that is the latest…be it an idea, a design, or even a way of life. A recent/new way of thinking in Malaysia/Asia, is still a state of being modern. Modernity, is not limited to the recent/current thinking in the West. Hence, a new trend initiated in Malaysia, is a modern trend! It does not have to come from the West for it to be modern. Have your own identity…its more precious than being a so-called modernized western-wannabe. In years to come, we would be bland. No more uniqueness that makes us Asian.

Let’s think for a bit. How much longer are gonna look highly to the West and adopt to their way of life. People say, when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do. Masuk kandang kambing mengembek, masuk kandang lembu eerr…(cant remember the ending…mengelembu perhaps?). But why? Why can’t we be Japanese when we are in Rome? Why can’t we mengiau bila masuk kandang kerbau? I know these proverbs meant to say that we should adapt to the surroundings…but really, adapt is one thing, but to lose identity for the sake of being accepted/adaptable is not worth it. There are things that we can freely adopt for us to be adaptable, but there are things that we should not compromise. Let no one tell you otherwise. Have your own principles. Without principles and values, who are we anyway?

I am sleepy, and I am beginning to sound like a broken record. So I might as well stop now.

Oi, Jeff...Oooi!

The following is an article from today’s TheStar, which only shows the utter bollocks that goes through the retarded-mind of an Islamo-phobic asshole!

Sunday August 2, 2009
Ooi wants JIM-linked Razali out
By IAN MCINTYRE

GEORGE TOWN: Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi is continuing his verbal war with Penang PKR municipal councillor Mohd Razali Abdullah, saying the council should not allow a “religious extremist” in its administration.

Ooi, who is Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s chief of staff, said the state was setting a dangerous precedent by allowing an alleged extremist religious activist to infiltrate the local government system.

“Razali has confirmed that he is a Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) member,” he said, adding he would call on Lim and state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow to handle the matter.

Ooi, who is a member of the DAP central executive committee, printed out literature from JIM’s portal at www.jim.org.my which stated that the organisation’s mission statement was to develop Malaysia into a country which fully adopted Syariah law by 2020.

“How can the Penang people accept someone who prioritises Syariah law ahead of the Pakatan Rakyat state and the people?” he said at a press conference yesterday.

“We are transparent. Before my public outburst, I had raised the matter internally with Penang PKR chairman Datuk Zahrain Mohd Hashim and the state government about two PKR councillors including one who is constantly absent. But there were no answers,” he said.

Zahrain, when contacted, said he would address the issue at the next state Pakatan meeting scheduled for Monday in Lim’s office at Komtar.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/2/nation/4440859&sec=nation

Oi, Jeff Ooi what da hell is wrong with you?! Can’t you think straight for once...please, help me understand here...what is wrong with wanting to establish Syariah Laws by 2020? Everyone will have their own personal views for just about everything. If this Razali fellow personally believes that Syariah Laws is the way to go for the future, then what is wrong with him associating himself with JIM? It is only wrong if/when he tries to force people to see and accept his views. Only then he is a religious extremist! There is nothing wrong with what he has done so far. Do you mean to say that if i were to believe in something associated with religion which happens to be against what you believe, then i am a religious extremist?! Following the same logic, then you are an extremist. Simply because you are against establishing Syariah Laws. I dont know which religion you profess in, or if you believe in God at all, but following your same line of thoughts, having a different set of believes would make you a religious extremist. What a fucked-up logic.

Secondly, since when are you open to comment publicly on such sensitive topics?! Hey, don’t get me wrong, i have no qualms over public discussions on topics relating to religion, beliefs and other potentially sensitive subjects. But it is amazing that you apply such double standards. When a Malay dude in Penang casually said that the Chinese WERE immigrants, you made so much noise saying that it is an insensitive comment which should not have been uttered in a multiracial country. An now you say this publicly? For your info, many Muslims believe that an Islamic country should be based on the Syariah laws. I don’t know enough about the laws of Islam, and i have not fully understood the Quran to form a conclusive view on this topic, but i do feel that people are entitled to believe in what they want to believe in. And most importantly, no one should be penalized for having such beliefs (as long as they dont go breaking the Laws)! If you think that i am an asshole, then whatever mate, i just couldn’t care less. Life goes on. Even if my father is the Prime Minister, i won’t ask him to penalize you. So live with it mate. You will always find people having views against yours, and that will never make them an extremist. But you acting all foolishly because someone don’t share your views, that is extremism.... nate bengong mu nih!

Thirdly, what could possibly be so wrong with being a part of JIM? Really, if it is an organisation for religious extremists, then do you honestly think that our legal and enforcement system is so screwed up to allow such thing to go unnoticed. We live in Malaysia for heaven sake…we come up with fatwas on everything, and we have the ISA being used freely on everyone…so, seriously, we could not be any stricter in monitoring religious NGOs….if there is something wrong with JIM, then the JAIS/JAWI/JAetc would have been all over it….

Fourthly, you said:

“We are transparent. Before my public outburst, I had raised the matter internally with Penang PKR chairman Datuk Zahrain Mohd Hashim and the state government about two PKR councillors including one who is constantly absent. But there were no answers,”

You, being holier-than-thou with a know-it-all attitude, think that this Razali fellow should be stripped from his position simply because he is part of JIM and believes that the Syariah Laws should be the laws governing the country, and you have done all that is within your power to make sure he is penalized, then why the fuck are you all numb and dumb and quiet about the Pakatan Rakyat, which has PAS as one of its components…owh, I forgot, you can’t say anything…it will be a political suicide for you… what a hypocrite! Typical, fight for the limelight, silence over what really matters!

1Malaysia

I am very happy to see the many things happening in Malaysia ever since Najib took the seat. Many initiatives were devised to hopefully improve the economic and social well-being of the country and the rakyat. The 1Malaysia concept is good. Stop criticizing it folks, it is a concept developed with only the best intentions in mind and heart for the people of Malaysia. Hopefully someday we will be a true nation, not merely existing as a country. It wishes to see fellow Malaysians being united under the same umbrella, all striving towards excellence, moving the country forward, pushing through obstacles, jumping over hurdles through loops of fires into a developed nation, without intentionally or unintentionally allowing any sectors of the rakyat being left behind, be it by race, religion or geographical locations. It benefits both, the haves and the have nots, and it does not discriminate between the politically-connected and those without any connections. It is for you and for me to enjoy.

Now that we have this wonderful concept briefly outlined, I could not help but wonder:

1. What is the baseline scenario, i.e have we agreed where we stand now? I have heard arguments that we ARE multiracial and we DO live together in harmony. So where are we, people? Where are we starting from?

2. Where are we heading to? Is there a target we all aspire to achieve? To be honest, I do feel that the 1Malaysia concept was announced without much deliberation and description of what we hope to be and….(continue in point 3 below)

3. …by when? Timescale people… if it is not time-bound, then it will never be achieved. But of course, it has to be reasonable too.

4. What are we doing to get there? What specific steps are we taking to get to where we want to be? Any implementation strategy? Who is responsible, and who is accountable for making sure of this ? And don’t tell me everyone is responsible, because it will not work…I have heard that far too many times before, and trust me, it has never worked in the past and it will never work in the future!

5. How do we know if/when we are there? What will be used as the yardstick? A target without any defined way of measuring “national unity” is as good as not having any targets at all. We need a clearly defined methodology.

My view is, without the above, the idea of 1Malaysia will be just that, a concocted “concept”. A make-believe idea for political gains. I hope it is not the case here. I may sound very pessimistic, but I do believe in the concept, and I sooooo want it to work. I just hope that all politicians will want it to work more than I do, so that at least I can be rest assured that someday we will get there (wherever that is)! I have heard far too many talks, but seen much less effective actions. Be different Najib!

RON 95 - An introduction to Gasoline Octane

I have been very busy lately, consumed by the many things that are happening personally and professionally. Hence why i have not been updating my blog for a very long time. I am now tired of writing on politics…a subject that I am not very well versed and I have less control over. I figure that i might as well write on something that I have expertise in. But I doubt it will be long before I start rambling about the things that happen around me…in short bebel la!

The government very recently announced the introduction of RON95 fuel to replace RON92, and ever since then, I have received numerous questions pertaining this from many of my friends and acquaintances . The following is my attempt to explain RON in a not too technical way (oftentimes I fail miserably, as my fellow colleagues in External Communications would testify):

RON, which stands for Research Octane Number, is a measure of octane quality of gasoline/petrol fuels whereby Octane is the ability of the fuel to resist engine knocking. So what is engine knocking?

This is where I really struggle to articulate in laymen terms. Engine knocking is an undesirable phenomenon that happens when a section/pocket of the fuel and air mixture in the engine ignites spontaneously and prematurely before it is consumed by the flame that is ignited by the spark plug. In a normal combustion, the flame in the engine is ignited by the spark plug, which then propagates to consume the entire fuel and air mixture. So essentially engine knocking is one of the many examples of when abnormal combustion happens in an engine. Two common symptoms of engine knocking are sudden loss of power, and pinging/rattling sound that originates from under the hood. Engine knocking, if persists over a long period, could lead to severe and costly engine damage.

Basically, the number after the RON acronym, denotes the octane level of that fuel, which means that a RON 97 has higher octane level than RON95, thereby are more resistant towards engine knocking than the latter. So what is the significance of it? Which cars are compatible with RON95 ? It depends on your car. Check it out for yourself la…. I cannot have all the information in my tiny little head. So I would suggest that you start by looking at your vehicle manual under the “fuel” section. It should specify the minimum RON recommended/required for your car make and model. Just be sure that you always fill-up with a fuel that has a RON value that meets or exceeds the minimum RON required by your car. For example, if your car requires a RON of 92, then you could fill-up with any fuel that has a RON value of 92 or higher, therefore RON95 and RON97 is compatible with your car. But if your car requires a minimum RON of 97, then unfortunately you can only fill-up with a RON97 fuel (or higher). If you insist on using a lower RON fuel, you may get your car re-tuned (i.e. retard your spark timing), but at the expense of power and fuel economy deterioration.

So hope that helps. I am too sleepy to write more, and you can probably tell from my "direct-to-the-point" way of writing.