The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, according to Bloomberg, is calling on its members to stop buying palm oil from Malaysia. All because of a few words on Jammu and Kashmir delivered by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the 74th United Nations General Assembly on Sept 27. If Bloomberg’s report on Monday is right, it is “amid concern that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will curb purchases of the vegetable oil from Malaysia”. Many Indian buyers of palm oil are said to have started shifting to supplies from Indonesia since the call was made. What’s more, the resort to one’s “heft” points to a more fundamental ailment: that we do not value free speech.

Source: New Strait Times October 22, 2019 16:07 UTC