Local media report taken out of context in misleading posts about crude palm oil tax
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).
Image
Screenshot of the false X post, captured on April 17, 2025
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).
No plans for new levies
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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