Stop the killing in Sabah

SABAH, without a shadow of doubt, is losing much of its wildlife to the rampant expansion of palm oil plantations.

State Minister for Environment and Tourism Masidi Manjun is on record as saying so.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu agrees, as well as "Traffic", the worldwide wildlife trade monitoring organisation. The most recent scientific report has confirmed the disappearance of some 300 orang utan over the past eight years.

Protected species such as orang utan, rhinos, Proboscis monkeys, elephants and a raft of other species are all disappearing fast.

The loss of biodiversity is one thing, but the potential commercial loss caused to Sabah’s ecotourism industry runs into many millions of dollars annually.

 We call on Masidi Manjun to publicly and immediately declare a zero tolerance to the killing of protected wildlife.

This is not about creating a new law. It is about publicly reaffirming the existing law which is being blatantly ignored. A clear statement from the minister is urgently needed reminding criminals and law enforcement officials of the law.

Sean Whyte from Nature Alert commented, “If Minister Masidi Manjun is serious about protecting Sabah’s orang utan and other iconic species as well as the ecotourism industry, then we call on him without delay to introduce a "zero tolerance: no kill" policy for Sabah.

Failure to commit to this policy will undoubtedly attract ever more criticism, fewer orangutans and fewer tourists.

Last February we bent over backwards to assist the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) with introducing a NO KILL policy and measures to ensure its enforcement. The MPOB made excuses as to why such a policy was not necessary — when everyone knows it is.

If the palm oil industry cannot be trusted to police themselves, the government must enforce the law.

We invite Masidi Manjun to respond with urgency to this request.

Source: Malay Mail