Higher Penalty For Offences Against Wildlife in Malaysia

Bernama 3 Mar 09;

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is to be amended to increase by between 10 and 30 times the penalty for offences as well as to protect more species of wildlife considered endangered.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the ministry would try to table the amendment at the ongoing session of Parliament.

"It is now in the final draft," he said in his opening speech at the Asean Judiciary Workshop on Wildlife Crime and Prosecution, here. The text of his speech was read out by the ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Zoal Azha Yusof.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks director-general Datuk Abdul Rashid Samsudin said the amendment would see an increase of between 10 and 30 times in the penalty imposed for offences against wildlife.

He also urged the public to report suspicious activities which could lead to wildlife crime.

Uggah said the Department of Wildlife and National Parks had done well in combating smuggling and indiscriminate exploitation of wildlife resources.

"In 2008, forty-five cases of wildlife crime were brought to the courts where offenders were fined or imprisoned," he added.

He said the extensive border between Malaysia and its neighbours posed a tremendous challenge to efforts to curb wildlife smuggling, and stressed on the need to further enhance information-sharing among Asean member countries.

Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Robert G. Rapson, said that according to a 2008 US Congressional Report, global trade in illegal wildlife was a growing illicit economy estimated to be worth at least US$5 billion (US$1 = RM3.70) and potentially in excess of US$20 billion annually.

"Demand for illegally obtained wildlife is ubiquitous, and some suspect that illicit demands may be growing. We are pleased to be working cooperatively with Malaysia to eliminate this pernicious activity," he said.

The two-day workshop, jointly organised by the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network (Asean-WEN) and the Federal Courts of Malaysia, is co-sponsored by the US Agency for International Development and supported by the Federal Courts of Malaysia.

Asean-WEN is the world's largest wildlife enforcement network, comprising Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The next judiciary workshop will be held in Cambodia.

-- BERNAMA